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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25448890">Pride: From Ashes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NexusProjectVF/pseuds/NexusProjectVF'>NexusProjectVF</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pride [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron Force (2011), Voltron: Defender of the Universe (Devil's Due Comics), Voltron: Legendary Defender, Voltron: Lion Force (1984)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baltan Pidge, Elemental Magic, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Pansexual Lance (Voltron), Profanity, Reboot, Science Fantasy, Sentient Voltron Lions, Spiritual Lion Bonds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:41:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>179,163</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25448890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NexusProjectVF/pseuds/NexusProjectVF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wounded and reeling, Explorer Team 686 arrives on a desperate planet. A world where a legend struggles to awaken, and ready or not, the key has presented itself…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pride [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1224596</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><i>Welcome to part 3 of Pride, in which things get real... real-er? Anyway, we're getting this show on the road. Enjoy!</i><br/><i>(small disclaimer: this fic has </i>absolutely nothing<i> to do with the From the Ashes comic. Actually that's about the only Voltron material we haven't drawn from in this series, go figure.)</i></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a simple message. A brief pulse that would easily be mistaken as background noise by any but the most vigilant observer. Even if it were intercepted, the short and incomprehensible jumble of characters had no meaning without context. It was nothing. A systems glitch, a scrambled wave. That was 'squawking panic'. That was the message the <em>Jupiter's Bolt</em> had cast into the void.</p>
<p>
  <b>ExT686sVC2</b>
</p>
<p><em>Explorer Team 686, vessel compromised in deep space, requesting protocol 2</em>.</p>
<p>Protocol 2 was the most common panic squawk: the situation would call for after-the-fact investigation, rather than an active rescue. It had arrived at the Alliance's nearest border station several days after its transmission. There it had been decrypted and sent via subspace communications to Askarel, the closest Alliance planet with a command post. The Askarel garrison had assessed and sent it along to Verundi, the nearest world with a capital ship to spare. That chain of events had cost another few hours.</p>
<p>It had taken some effort to pull the mission data for Explorer Team 686. The unit's records were sealed. But panic squawks were taken seriously enough to work around that inconvenience. A few more subspace messages, this time to the administrative hub on Skotathyr. A few more hours.</p>
<p>Finally, a reconnaissance team had been dispatched to the signal's origin point. In the Calidar system they'd found nothing but trace wreckage, and the Drule station there reported only recent pirate battles. They'd been invited, under an obscure clause in the Deros Convention, to investigate the wreckage themselves if they wished. There hadn't been any sign of the 686's <em>Vagrant</em>.</p>
<p>Only then had anyone gotten around to notifying Colonel James Hawkins. He wasn't particularly pleased, but at the same time, what would he have been doing if they'd alerted him earlier? Sitting in his office poring over reports and not sleeping, that was what.</p>
<p>He was doing that just fine now.</p>
<p>Of course he'd lost people before. It was the nature of Explorer Teams—performing such precise and sensitive tasks meant occasionally, a team would simply disappear. Line units rarely had to worry about their people just vanishing without a trace. Every single time, it was difficult… and yet for some reason this one felt worse.</p>
<p>Was it the mission? Hawkins wasn't sure. The search for Voltron had never felt <em>urgent</em>, so it likely wasn't that. Another run-in like the one they'd reported at Kithran was possible, but it would have been the most… expected cause. If he really thought that was what had happened, his guts wouldn't be churning with unease.</p>
<p>No, it wasn't the Galra at issue. Perhaps it was the Alliance itself? Or more to the point, whoever was behind the pirates the 686 had uncovered. Sealing the team's records had been a precaution, not a guarantee. But that didn't make sense. The task force had not been able to hunt down the pirates—more support for an inside job. But they'd never been reported beyond the Rim. The other side of the Interior Expanse? It made no sense. And it wasn't as if the team had been submitting routing reports. Even Hawkins hadn't known they were moving through Calidar until after the fact, no traitor in the command structure could have targeted them.</p>
<p>No… what was bothering him was the most obvious thing, given the source of the message. The least likely thing, based on the unit's mission parameters. It was the Drules.</p>
<p>The offer to inspect the wreckage at Calidar made his skin crawl; the Ninth Kingdom hewed very carefully to the letter of the Deros Convention. They didn't tend to care much about the <em>spirit</em>. Such helpfulness was in itself suspicious, and if they'd had a hand in the 686's disappearance, the ripples could go well beyond their original task.</p>
<p>
  <em>Are they going to make a move? With the Fourth, or without? Is the war we've been waiting on for decades about to start, or was this just some one-off… but why wouldn't they ransom them back if it was?</em>
</p>
<p>All of those questions were well above his pay grade. His job was to raise the alarm, and he'd done that first of all. Now… he just had to work through this damnable helpless feeling. Hawkins liked his job, in theory, but he'd never quite settled into being stuck behind a desk.</p>
<p>"At it again, huh?"</p>
<p>He jumped, then turned, a small smile crossing his lips despite himself. "How do you always sneak up on me like that?"</p>
<p>The tall man standing in the doorway chuckled, dark eyes glinting with sympathy. "Because you get as focused on your strategic reports as I get on my command console, naturally."</p>
<p>"You do make a convincing case."</p>
<p>Captain Takashi Shirogane—Shiro to his friends, Takashi to his husband—approached and put a hand on his shoulder. A hand that wasn't flesh and blood, but metal; he'd lost most of his arm fighting off a Galra raid several years before. The 686's mission had been of some interest to him, too. "You can't do this to yourself, James. You've gone over every record from the region… twice."</p>
<p>"And yet I'm no closer to any answers but the obvious." He sighed. "This feels <em>different</em>, Takashi. What were they doing there? Why the hell would the Ninth—the Ninth! Not even the Fourth, we expect this from them!—make a move like this? They're pretending not to have even seen the ship, there's no hint of its presence. That implies it was captured, not destroyed. And if they're outright abducting our people—"</p>
<p>"—James." The chain of logic was sound. Continuing to dwell on the unanswerable could only have one result. "You reported to intel and the Consulate. It's in their hands now. What more can you do like this?"</p>
<p>Hawkins paused, then looked at him and shook his head in quiet frustration. "You'd do the same if it were your people, you know."</p>
<p>"I know." Shiro squeezed his shoulder. "And you'd convince me to come home and rest, so I'd be ready when the answers come."</p>
<p>True. Reasonable. Painful, for certain, but… his eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh, I'll be ready. If the Ninth took <em>my people</em> as an opening salvo, I'll be going out there <em>myself</em> once the Consulate makes them spit it out, and I don't care if the brass approves it or not." The faintest hint of a smile crossed his lips. "And just for the record, if it comes to that… I'll need a pilot."</p>
<p>Shiro paused, then slowly matched his grin. "I might know someone."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>
  <em>Of all the damnable insults to be added to injury…</em>
</p>
<p>King Zarkon looked up at the captured spacecraft. It was an impressive beast of a ship, from a technical standpoint; he'd read the intake reports. The Alliance's inferior technology prevented anything much larger than this craft from escaping atmosphere. That made this, something called a <em>Vagrant</em>, a particularly fine piece of engineering.</p>
<p>Usually Zarkon appreciated the work of his enemies, the way they made do with lesser minds and lesser tools. He wasn't in the mood today. They had preserved the <em>Vagrant</em> when it was captured; that was policy. Catalog the contents, lock it down in an auxiliary hangar, and have it ready to ransom back if the Alliance actually noticed it was missing. The crew? Oh, they'd been well treated, of course, but they had tragically been killed in a failed escape. They'd brought it upon themselves. Perhaps the Alliance should train their people better.</p>
<p>Of course, the crew of this particular ship had not <em>failed</em> to escape. It was a crippling shame and a diplomatic nightmare. The Ninth had expended resources well beyond what might be considered proportionate to hunt down the escaped gladiators, and still had nothing to show for it.</p>
<p>And then, their backchannel contacts with the Alliance had come calling. First the reconnaissance mission to Calidar. Now a thinly-veiled accusation of a Deros Convention violation, sent via the Seventh Kingdom embassy. The Seventh's ambassador had seemed damn near gleeful when she delivered it, as if she knew the bind the Ninth was in.</p>
<p>Telling the truth was out of the question. There were <em>rules</em> about the treatment of captives. There would be sanctions. Offering the ship was an option, but what of the crew? To say they'd died would be disproven if the gladiators made it back to Alliance space. Admitting they'd escaped was unthinkable—not to mention they would be obliged to stop trying to recapture them. Both meant the truth and sanctions anyway, as well as the insult going unavenged.</p>
<p>Only two possibilities served the Ninth's needs. They could recapture the gladiators, or they could hope for them to die on their own before reaching the Alliance. The second option was a fool's choice. The first was seeming more and more unlikely.</p>
<p>Taking an inconsequential merchant ship or two every gladiatorial season was not supposed to cause this many <em>problems</em>.</p>
<p>It wasn't the Alliance's response he was worried about, really. They had no sense of honor. They wouldn't go to war over such a small violation… they would demand some minor concession and let it go. It was the Drule Supremacy itself that would inflict harsh sanctions for even small missteps: the vindictive Fourth Kingdom, the usual victim of the Alliance's successes, would be only too eager to inflict penalties on anyone else stepping out of line. The kingdoms back in the home galaxy, for whom all these concerns were theoretical, would show no mercy. And the wave of conquest he'd been overseeing had stretched the kingdom's supply lines thin; they really couldn't afford sanctions right now.</p>
<p>Sometimes, Zarkon fully understood his son's hatred of politics. The difference was that he still meant to do his duty, rather than just <em>whining</em> about it.</p>
<p>"There you are! Xalinan told me I'd find you here. This issue doesn't need to concern you, you know."</p>
<p>The king startled, then turned. Approaching was a man who was the mirror image of himself, except he wore gold-trimmed battle armor rather than royal vestments. A war banner fluttered from his helmet, a simple marking that spoke of the highest station. This was the Grand Admiral of the Ninth Kingdom, Lord of the Armadas and Conquering Hand of the Throne: Zarkon's older twin brother, Daibazaal.</p>
<p>Together they had plotted their rise to power, eliminating any sibling that threatened their position. Together they had launched a new wave of conquest, expanding the borders of the Ninth to new and glorious heights. And together, it seemed, they couldn't hunt down a mere handful of upstart humans. "It's my concern until your people drag the gladiators back here in spiked chains, brother. It shouldn't even have been <em>a</em> problem. Maybe you'd like to remind the fleets that when they're carrying out actions against our treaties, they're to be certain to not allow distress calls!"</p>
<p>Daibazaal was more than used to dealing with his brother's temper, and waved it off calmly. "I've looked over the logs from the <em>Scarborne Fist</em>. All countermeasures were taken. Perhaps they'd reported their position beforehand… or perhaps they can't truly prove this ship was at Calidar at all."</p>
<p>That <em>was</em> useful information. Zarkon nodded. "I can tie the proceedings up with that. But that game ends the moment the gladiators reach them. Which is why they must not."</p>
<p>"Our tracker squadrons have their scent. The stolen <em>Cor'velon</em> was located at a Seventh Kingdom border world, but they were not aboard. The criminals who were captured with the craft said a band of humans fitting their description traded ships with them, and we have cast a wide net to seek the new vessel."</p>
<p>At the mention of the Seventh Kingdom, Zarkon had frozen, just for a moment. The ambassador's message suddenly seemed more ominous. Had the gladiators already reached the Alliance? Had the treacherous Seventh—no. No, backstabbing scum that they were, not even the Seventh would have aided such an escape. Not without trying to sell the fugitives back to the Ninth first, anyway.</p>
<p>"Brother?"</p>
<p>He snapped out of it and scowled. "Cast a wider one. I want all their heads impaled on the castle spires as a warning, and I want them as close to <em>immediately</em> as possible. Do you understand me?"</p>
<p>Daibazaal saluted. "As you command, sire!" Backing away a few steps before turning, he departed to issue new orders.</p>
<p>Looking after him, Zarkon shook his head slowly. A damned cargo ship. Ten slaves—<em>seven</em> slaves, really, at least three had had the grace and good sense to die. Such outsized complications for so few, primitive creatures. And every report only seemed to irk him more.</p>
<p>
  <em>What else can go wrong?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Landfall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The course to Arus from… wherever exactly they'd started from… had taken a little under two weeks. What was left of Explorer Team 686, along with their runaway princess, had not exactly been enjoying the trip. Even if they'd been psychologically prepared to resume 'normal' life, living off whatever possessions the previous crew had left behind made that a bit more difficult. Really, if Hunk couldn't blast heavy metal over the comms at dramatic moments, normality was still out of reach.</p>
<p>Not that anyone <em>was</em> prepared for normality, but with datapads and a few comic books they might have been able to fake it. Too much had happened… and too much more was about to.</p>
<p>What they had managed to do in transit was give the <em>Xaela</em> a proper name. Pidge had dug up its registry to discover that its previous crew had called it <em>Boat of the Leaping Purple,</em> which they could only assume was some slang that didn't translate. At <em>all</em>. After an impassioned debate, the team had dubbed it the <em>Falcon</em>—ostensibly for the swooping falcon in the Explorer Team insignia, though fulfilling Lance's childhood dream of piloting a ship named <em>Falcon</em> was a bonus.</p>
<p>He was at the helm already as the first navigation alert went off; Bataxi ships gave quite a few alerts when reaching the end of a course. Given the consequences of exiting too late tended to be <em>fiery death</em>, that was understandable. A second was sounding as Keith strode in.</p>
<p>"Alright. Everyone on their toes. Bring up the shields and bring us out of mirrorlock." He fell silent and crossed over to his station, but didn't actually sit yet. If he didn't have to start pacing before they landed, it would be a miracle. Already he might have been holding his breath.</p>
<p>Daniel flopped into his own seat and rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure it'd be much harder to man my lasers on my toes. I'd be much more effective on my ass."</p>
<p>"I'm with little gunner dude," Hunk agreed from the engine bay. "Ballet stance ain't any way to run a ship." Next to him, Vince couldn't help but snort at the idea of the big guy doing ballet—it just sounded like asking for trouble. Keith glanced back at him, then attempted to facepalm without looking like he was doing so. It didn't quite work out.</p>
<p>Mercifully, the last alert tone rang out then, as did Pidge's more businesslike report. "Shields are active, sir." The fog of light that passed for the <em>Xaela's</em> shields sprang to life around them, waves of pale blue and gold contrasting with the white streaking light of the photon corridor.</p>
<p>"It's about to get a bit bumpy," Lance warned as they decelerated. The course wouldn't bring them into atmosphere, but close enough to start getting some gravitational pull. Already the <em>Falcon</em> was rattling slightly as the corridor around them brightened, becoming blinding enough to drown out the shields for an instant… and then winked out altogether with a lurch and a howl from the engines. "In real space, lady and men."</p>
<p>"Radar contacts?" Keith asked immediately, pacing in front of his chair.</p>
<p>Primary radar was part of the navigation console, unlike Alliance ships which bundled it with the comms. Sven was just as happy to have something to do with himself; he missed hyperspace. Though they hadn't exactly exited into a crowd, either. "None, sir."</p>
<p>"Scanners back here are all clear," Hunk agreed from the secondary radar station.</p>
<p>Lance checked his own sensors and the main viewscreen, whistling softly. No sign of any other ships, or orbital stations, though he saw a few glints in high orbit that could have been some sort of satellites. But his eyes were drawn to Arus itself, a brilliant sphere of blues and greens covered in swirling clouds. "Looks like just a planet," he said quietly. "I hope."</p>
<p>"No Drule ships?" Daniel was slightly disappointed by that, but also slightly relieved. He'd have liked something to shoot at—but having nothing to shoot <em>with</em> kind of complicated the deal.</p>
<p>Their commander was well and truly pacing now, then looked over at Romelle. She <em>had</em> said the Ninth would only leave a ship behind if they thought it might be needed. But the fact that they didn't see one right now didn't mean it wasn't there. For one thing, Drule capital ships didn't require spacedocking. "Would it be down on the planet?"</p>
<p>"Not usually, I think." She knew Korrinoth's own defense fleet had only ever landed for maintenance, at least. "And nothing on the comms. If they'd detected us it wouldn't be so… quiet."</p>
<p>"Alright." Waiting around until someone noticed them wouldn't help anything. "Lance, take us in closer and let's hope for the best."</p>
<p>"On it." He pitched the <em>Falcon</em> towards the planet and started them forward. Punching up the magnification on his own scanners, he checked out the closest glinting object; it did look like a satellite. But it was also mangled and had a panel visibly sheared off. So probably an Arusian satellite, once. No threat to them right now. "Maybe we got lucky?"</p>
<p>Daniel snorted. "Us, lucky?"</p>
<p>"Romelle gave us Voltron, didn't she?"</p>
<p>"I'm still undecided on if that was actually lucky or not."</p>
<p>Maybe that was fair, they <em>were</em> just starting this Voltron recovery. A lot could still go wrong. For the moment, the hull rattled slightly from dust impacts as they moved through high orbit, but everything seemed to be calm. "We know what we're shooting for? Coordinates?"</p>
<p>"The Castle of Lions, right?" Keith looked back at Romelle, who shook her head slightly. She certainly didn't have <em>coordinates</em>.</p>
<p>"I'll know the area when I see it. It's near a mountain range. But I don't have anything more specific."</p>
<p>"Alright. Bring us down into ground scanning range and we'll do what we can."</p>
<p>"On it." Lance pushed the <em>Falcon</em> closer to the surface, into what could be considered the middle orbital zone. He kept one eye on his obstacle sensors; there might be more satellites down here. The rest of his focus went to the secondary viewscreen as the ground scanners came up, painting the world below in blurry false-color shades through the clouds. Where the clouds weren't in the way, they could see the glittering blue of the ocean, the varied greens of land where vegetation thrived. The regions they were passing didn't seem to have been heavily developed. "It's pretty."</p>
<p>Sven looked over at him and arched an eyebrow. It seemed early for <em>that</em> assessment, but then, Lance would probably try to charm an actual planet if he could…</p>
<p>Hunk was less subtle, as ever. "It's real, uh, planet-y, for sure."</p>
<p>"None of you appreciate anything," their pilot grumbled.</p>
<p>Daniel wasn't sure about the planet's prettiness either, but he hadn't said it out loud, so he glared. "Hey! I appreciate tons of stuff!"</p>
<p>"Okay you're the exception, kid."</p>
<p>"Unfair, dude!" Hunk protested just as quickly. "I'll decide if it's pretty when we actually see the ground, yeah?"</p>
<p>"If it's pretty from up here, it'll be pretty on the ground!"</p>
<p>"Not logically accurate," Pidge muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.</p>
<p>Sighing, Keith stopped pacing and held up a hand. "Alright, enough."</p>
<p>Of course it didn't actually work. When did it ever? Daniel just shifted his glare to him. "What do you have against semi-humorous commentary, Kogane?"</p>
<p>Flinching—he would really prefer if nobody else could call him Kogane for at least another couple of months—Keith took a moment to shake it off, then smirked. "Nothing, when the commentary is actually humorous."</p>
<p>Now Lance glared too. "It was actually humorous."</p>
<p>"It <em>wasn't</em> your best work," Daniel countered with a shrug.</p>
<p>"It's always my best work!"</p>
<p>Pidge shot him a skeptical look. "Then it's also always your worst work."</p>
<p>Lance opened his mouth to fire back, then paused. He wasn't actually sure he <em>had</em> an answer for that. "…Well fuck." All he could do was laugh as Vince and Daniel snorted, and Hunk gave a small chuckle of sympathy.</p>
<p>As they bantered, Romelle was focused on the ground scanners; the <em>Falcon</em> had been following a mountain range that ran parallel to one continent's northern coast. She'd spoken with a bit more confidence than she really felt about recognizing the castle. It wasn't as though she'd ever studied Arusian geography. What she knew was the artwork her people had kept with them, memories of the home they'd been forced to flee. If those materials were a bit more… allegorical than representative, they might be in for some trouble. But as the ship approached a break in the mountains, a small ridge cut from the main range by a river, she couldn't fight down a gasp as the doubts fled.</p>
<p>"That river valley, that ridge. Here. It's <em>here</em>."</p>
<p>It felt like an old legend had come alive before her eyes. No, it <em>was</em> a legend. Few Polluxians had ever dared even hope to see Arus again—about once a century there was a new attempt at diplomacy, and they were always disastrous. But here she was.</p>
<p>Everyone else had fallen silent, looking from her to the viewscreen and back. Keith studied the image, frowning. It was odd terrain—he could see both a lake and a stretch of desert in close proximity, and a patch of green and black he assumed was a forest partially burned away by Drule weaponry. The mountains ran to the north, and the mix of natural barriers framed a bit of meadowland that would have been remarkably defensible from the ground. The scans weren't precise enough to see any structures that might be there, but it was probably where <em>he'd</em> have put a castle.</p>
<p>That said, this was an alien planet, so he couldn't just assume. "You're sure?"</p>
<p>"Yes…" Romelle trailed off a moment, then nodded slowly. "Mostly yes." She was certain of it, deep in her chest, but that wasn't objective proof. "If the tapestry my ancestors brought with them to Pollux is to be believed."</p>
<p>"A tapestry?" Lance repeated, then shrugged. "Well why not, I've made decisions on less."</p>
<p><em>Haven't we all.</em> If a tapestry was what they had, so be it. "Sven, find us a place to land."</p>
<p>Sven tore his eyes from the screen and stared at his commander in disbelief. "I… how?" He gestured to the screen. "We're in mid-high orbit operating off scanners of questionable precision. I don't have a map. You're overestimating my abilities."</p>
<p>"Bro, when do we <em>not</em> overestimate our abilities?" Hunk pointed out. "Usually works okay."</p>
<p>…He wasn't wrong, exactly. Sven huffed in frustration and looked at the screen more closely. The <em>Falcon</em> was circling now, coming down a bit so the ground scans could at least get a little sharper. Still, he preferred maps. Why couldn't he just have a nice <em>fucking</em> map anymore?</p>
<p>"We want near that ridge, right?" Lance asked before their navigator could think too hard about what he'd just thought. Romelle had definitely said something about the ridge. "Use that as a starting point?"</p>
<p>Of course use that as a starting point. Sighing, Sven punched up the magnification, though all that did was blur things more. Beneath a thick bank of clouds, the false-color scans were painting an area of gentle elevation changes between the mountains and the lake. "That area looks semi-safe. Sort of." Probably some sort of foothills, where they might be able to land and find cover on a Drule-occupied planet they didn't have maps of. "Looks like it won't try to kill us."</p>
<p>Maybe the team's standards were low these days; not even Vince questioned that as sufficient landing guidance. "Knew you could do it," Lance declared with a grin, pitching the <em>Falcon</em>'s nose downward. "Alright, starting descent into the atmosphere."</p>
<p>Leaning back at her console, Romelle watched the descent and fought down a shiver. The initial rush was giving way to trepidation. This was <em>Arus</em>. What nostalgic affection her people had for the planet did not extend to its inhabitants, and the fact that the Drules had conquered this world didn't exactly make it <em>more</em> welcoming. But she was in this deep. And if they could sneak Voltron out from under the noses of the locals—all of them—perhaps that would be worth it.</p>
<p>The hull shuddered more violently as it hit the atmosphere, and the soft orange glow of re-entry washed over the viewscreen. It faded a moment later as the ship's systems engaged some filters. Starting a gentle turn, Lance grinned as he felt the friction, and patted the console. "Yes, some real flying. Let's see what you've got, <em>Falcon</em>." A sensor chimed that they were through the entry heat, and he reached for a switch he'd been pretty excited about—a function no Alliance ship possessed. "Time to wing it!" As he flipped the switch, there was a sharp lurch, and the ship's retractable wings unfurled from their sheaths.</p>
<p>"Wing extension successful," Hunk reported. Mostly because he was pretty sure he was supposed to report it; if it had been <em>unsuccessful</em>, it wouldn't have taken long for everyone to notice. He was more concerned about the engines, which were making noises he'd never heard before. The status lights were still showing optimal function. <em>Must just be the air…</em> "I really wish I knew how these things worked."</p>
<p>"I wish you did too," Pidge agreed.</p>
<p>Vince nodded. "Me three."</p>
<p>"…Dude." Hunk did not pout especially convincingly, but he pouted nonetheless. "Thanks, wrenchies."</p>
<p>"You're welcome."</p>
<p>"Any time, big guy."</p>
<p>Lance was having his own problems as gravity well and truly took hold. The viewscreen was relaying images from the front of the ship, in theory making it the same piloting experience as anything else. But the <em>Xaela's</em> bridge was not <em>actually</em> in the front of the ship. Now that they were out of zero-G, the ship's movements felt a little sluggish and exaggerated. They weren't—he could <em>see</em> that—but it was taking some getting used to.</p>
<p>Noting their pilot's expression, Keith couldn't help a small smirk. He had a good idea what the problem was. "Need me to fly it, rookie?"</p>
<p>Flipping people off while performing sensitive flying was generally not recommended, so Lance had to settle for a quick glare. "Fuck off, boss."</p>
<p>"Dude." Daniel glared at Keith too, again. "Insulting the pilot's flight skills in intense situations is <em>my job</em>, bossman. Do you see me trying to command? No!" Before Lance could express any appreciation for the backup, he added, "Need me to fly it, old man?"</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Lance plunged them into the cloud bank above their landing site. He had several smartass remarks ready for when they escaped the clouds… the problem was, they weren't escaping the clouds. Blinking, he checked the altitude readings and the ground scans. They were definitely coming down over the mountains—he saw a glow from the ground and a patch of brilliant heat on the sensors, was that an <em>active volcano?</em>—but the cloud cover wasn't even thinning. "This isn't a cloud, it's fog," he said flatly.</p>
<p>"Just keep it steady, Lance." That earned Keith another glare. Fog really wasn't that big a deal. Just a minor annoyance that meant he couldn't actually see the ground.</p>
<p>When you were Lance McClain, you didn't <em>need</em> to see the ground.</p>
<p>Sweeping down over the foothills, he located a narrow, flat valley and guided the <em>Falcon</em> towards it. Another lurch and a series of dull <em>thumps</em> rang through the ship as the landing gear extended. "Alright, we're going to be on the ground in three, two, one…" A brief impact, a roar from the thrust reversers, and he was taxiing them along the hills into an area shrouded by rocky outcroppings. Or at least he assumed the solid masses the scanners were painting alongside them were rocks. "Stuck that landing," he announced, shooting Keith and Daniel a dirty look.</p>
<p>Sven looked around the bridge and exhaled slowly as they came to a stop. It had been a good landing, and he was glad… but it also meant Keith would just get that much more comfortable overestimating his abilities <em>without maps.</em></p>
<p>"Not bad." Keith looked at the viewscreen; they could see a few leaves through the fog now. That was it. "Okay, shut her down and let's see what we've got. We need to secure this landing zone, first off."</p>
<p>"I can't find any proximity scanning systems," Pidge reported, then frowned. "I suppose scouting sensors wouldn't be a priority for a ship like this, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>"Probably not." Vince was eyeing the bay consoles skeptically. A cargo shuttle like this <em>shouldn't</em> need scouting sensors, no. The Alliance just liked to include them in standard sensor packages just in case… he was really preferring Alliance design principles to Bataxi right now. "So how are we supposed to see what we're working with?"</p>
<p>Shrug. "We'll have orders, I'm sure."</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged too. "Gotta do it the old fashioned way, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Old fashioned way sounds like fun," Lance agreed.</p>
<p>"Could be fun."</p>
<p>"Orders sound less fun," Daniel snorted.</p>
<p>"I think orders sound wonderful." That was Sven, of course.</p>
<p>"Viking, you're strange…"</p>
<p>"Alright." Shaking his head, Keith shut them up with his best command tone. "Let's get to the ramp and take a look around, shall we? Grab your weapons, we don't know what's out there."</p>
<p>"Yes sir," Sven agreed, checking his knife and giving Lance a small shrug. He couldn't really argue with being called strange.</p>
<p>"Aye aye, cap'n." Daniel grabbed one of the stolen Drule guns and flexed his injured hand a little; it was still very sore and pretty weak, but the worst of it had healed in transit. Nothing he couldn't deal with.</p>
<p>"Can't wait to inhale some fresh air."</p>
<p>"Can't wait to be somewhere that ain't either a ship or a <em>prison</em>."</p>
<p>"Will we even be able to see anything?"</p>
<p>"Fog clears."</p>
<p>"I was referring to the immediate circumstances…"</p>
<p>"Can't hurt to look?"</p>
<p>Romelle remained silent, watching the others pick up their guns and wondering if she ought to do likewise. It didn't seem like it would help much; she didn't know what to do with one. So she drew her gaive'llar and followed, though she had as many mixed feelings about the blade as she had about the planet they were on.</p>
<p>At the <em>Falcon's</em> airlock, they checked their weapons once more, and Keith nodded. "Let's move, people."</p>
<p>The dampness hit them like a soggy blanket the moment the outer hatch opened, and Daniel made a face. "Ahh, the muggy taste of fresh air. I prefer air conditioning."</p>
<p>"True that, little dude." Hunk wrinkled his nose. The air wasn't especially hot, but it was heavy and opaque and smelled like mud. He liked mud better when he was driving a crush car through it.</p>
<p>Lance shot them both a reproachful look. "Don't be so pessimistic, it's better than canned air. Though this <em>is</em> kind of pea soup."</p>
<p>Pidge turned to him, obviously about to ask what that meant, but thought better of it. Daniel made a face. "Yeah, and pea soup is nasty."</p>
<p>"True <em>that</em> too, little dude."</p>
<p>"Yeah, it has peas…" Lance grimaced too as he trailed off, realizing he was waiting for Jace to argue. It wasn't the harsh, painful shock that accompanied the realization anymore. It was a dull ache of acceptance, and he sighed as they fanned out around the boarding ramp.</p>
<p>The fog was certainly thick, though that had its advantages as well. Keith looked around at his team. Even from just a few feet away they were fairly indistinct. "It will hide us if there are Drules, at least."</p>
<p>"It may also hide the Drules from us," Sven pointed out. "Maybe we should be a bit more silent."</p>
<p>"Agreed. Let's split up. Sven, you lead one group, I'll lead the other."</p>
<p>"Yes sir."</p>
<p>"Groups?" Pidge asked, stepping a little closer to Vince. His fellow engineer side-eyed him but said nothing, understanding now just <em>why</em> he was doing that.</p>
<p>Keith looked at them and nodded. "I'll take Lance, Hunk, and Romelle further up into the foothills. We might find a gap in the fog somewhere." Hunk was no good at stealth, and he doubted Romelle was much better; she'd have little reason to have ever roughed it outdoors before. Keeping them to the heavier cover would be the best bet. "Sven, you and the others head east and see if you can get a look past the clouds, but be careful."</p>
<p>"Aww, boss, I never get picked first for stealth stuff." He couldn't see Hunk smirking, but he could <em>hear</em> it.</p>
<p>"Yes sir." Sven looked over his own team. Pidge, Vince, and Daniel—the 'kids', which he'd have had a comment about once, but it hardly mattered anymore. "We'll try to find that river and look upstream."</p>
<p>"Sounds like a plan. Let's get moving."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The three who remained in the Castle of Lions slept in shifts. Not long shifts, but enough to keep themselves going. It was all they could do. Allura was sleeping now; Coran was down at the ground level coordinating some things for the shelter, leaving Larmina on lookout duty.</p>
<p>She'd found her way to the parade balcony. It was a good vantage point, with a clear view of the skies and the castle village in the distance. Larmina had never been, nor wanted to be, up here before—certainly not before the attacks. Fancy royal nonsense. Ironically, it was the fancy royal nonsense that had brought her here now, more so than the nice lookout post…</p>
<p>Auntie had been muttering about lions again.</p>
<p>Larmina was tired of being left out of whatever was going on with these <em>lions</em>. They were dead, weren't they? The Golden Gods had wiped them out, a pact made to spare the Arusian people from their wrath. That was what the High Priest had said. <em>If we are faithless again, there are no lions left to save us.</em></p>
<p>Yet Aunt Allura kept invoking them under her breath. So, either she knew something Larmina didn't or she was going a little bit crazy. Or both, to be fair. In any case, learning something more about the lions seemed like a good way to spend another boring few hours of watch. The library had been scavenged down to the last book, and High Priest Teynn was underground—and also an asshole she didn't want to talk to, though that wasn't the point. The point was, neither of those would help her multitask.</p>
<p>Hence, the parade balcony, and the delicate reliefs carved into the back wall. She'd only seen them once before, watching Governor Tarlok's speech, and they hadn't exactly been her focus at the time. She could swear the balcony still reeked of Drule… oh well, he was banewolf chow now. As he ought to be.</p>
<p>The carvings told a very different story than the one she'd thought she'd known, that was for sure. The lions were magnificent beasts, maned felines striding through fire from above as they shepherded panicked Arusians to safety. Another panel showed them bowing before the Radiant Warrior. Someone who'd heard a more benevolent version of the tale might have thought they were being rewarded for their efforts, not annihilated.</p>
<p>One panel kept catching her eye. Five lions, standing together as if ready to lunge into battle. But what kept distracting her was what wasn't there… or more to the point, what had obviously <em>once</em> been there. Larmina was no art scholar, but she'd seen some restoration work done back at her mother's manor. Parts of this carving had been cut away long after the surrounding area had been weathered. She could see the shadows of wings on two of the lions, a bolt of lightning in the sky, watery patterns and a scattering of leaves. There was more that she couldn't make out.</p>
<p>Did it matter? Probably not. But something was tugging at her memory… Tanner's black lion toy, the felt wings pinned to it. The wings erased from the lions here—the one in the center of the group might have been a little darker than the others. She shook her head slightly, trying to make sense of her own thoughts. Why would someone bother to change a stone relief like this?</p>
<p>
  <em>Black Lion… Auntie, what in the five hells aren't you telling me?</em>
</p>
<p>A sound from the sky interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up in time to see a glint of white and silver. <em>Dovayat…</em> the curse cut short in her mind as she squinted to get a better look. <em>Wait, what?</em></p>
<p>It was a ship. That much was certain. But it wasn't a Drule ship… or if it was, it was the oddest one she'd ever seen. And she'd seen a few more over the last few months than she'd cared to. It was streaking through the sky south of the castle, moving west, and as she watched it vanished into the thick fog that covered Lake Almeria and the foothills.</p>
<p>Tracking the ship's apparent route with her eyes, she waited for it to emerge… but it didn't.</p>
<p><em>Dovayat polesta</em>.</p>
<p>Whatever it was, it had to be more urgent than poking at centuries-old carvings of uncertain historical accuracy. Just to be sure, she watched the fog for another minute, then turned and went looking for Coran.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sven still wanted a map. He would've happily made his own map, but they didn't have datapads. They didn't even have <em>paper</em>. Good thing they wouldn't need to enlist any magical bats here, they'd be flat out of luck.</p>
<p>His scout team had picked their way through undergrowth, small hills, and a few bits of wreckage from what had probably been fighter craft—some Drule, some not. Most if not all of it they'd stumbled straight into, and the fog was only slightly thinning out by the time they reached the river. Good for landing site security, maybe, but he was pretty well over it.</p>
<p>He wasn't the only one. "I was really hoping to see something," Vince muttered as he looked over the water. They had in fact managed to find the <em>mouth</em> of the river, mostly by following the sound; it poured into the lake they'd seen from the ship. "Not Drules, but something."</p>
<p>"I'd settle for seeing something farther than five feet away," Daniel snorted.</p>
<p><em>That would be preferable</em>. Sven didn't say it out loud; it would only encourage further grumbling. "We should probably head upriver." That was usually the best bet.</p>
<p>Pidge was squinting through the fog; he'd been acting a bit subdued even for Pidge. "Should we look around the lake while we're here?" He understood the logic of going upriver, but when they'd wandered right into where it ended, checking the larger body of water seemed equally logical.</p>
<p>It was all the same to Vince. "Lakes are nice."</p>
<p>"Lakes are very nice." Sven was certain circling the entire lake was not within their current mandate, but it wouldn't hurt to scout a bit. "Good idea, Pidge." He led them south, keeping the lake shore in sight without actually walking on the narrow strip of sand. There was no good reason to walk on sand if <em>not</em> walking on it was an option. Daniel walked next to him, already bored; Pidge trailed behind.</p>
<p>Vince had noticed the ninja seemed a little off, and decided to try to make small talk. He would probably regret it, but at least he'd have tried. "So uh, mechkas swim, right?" The picture he'd seen had definitely had a swimmy-looking tail.</p>
<p>"…Yes? I've never seen one in person."</p>
<p>"Maybe this place has something like them?"</p>
<p>"What are mechkas?" Daniel asked. This seemed like at least a marginally more interesting topic than—</p>
<p>"—Do you all hear that?" Sven stopped dead in his tracks, looking around and tensing a little. He couldn't see anything, but he'd definitely heard a low growl emanating from… somewhere. Memories of boar-tahs flashed through his mind and he gripped his knife, watching for any movement in the fog.</p>
<p>Daniel, admittedly, had not been paying the best attention to the surroundings. "Hear what?"</p>
<p>"Just water." Vince fell silent and strained to hear; the lapping of the lake on its banks was audible from here, muffled only a little by the fog. "Was it that?"</p>
<p>"Growling." Frowning, Sven took a few steps forward, trying to get a sense of where it was, but it was impossible. The sound seemed almost to be surrounding him. Unfortunate foggy acoustics.</p>
<p>"I didn't hear anything."</p>
<p>"I don't hear anything either, sir… no signs of life at all."</p>
<p>"It is quiet. Like, eerie quiet."</p>
<p>Wonderful. Turning back to them, Sven heard another growl, though it seemed to be fading. "You really don't…" Their expressions made it all too clear he didn't need to finish the question.</p>
<p>"Sorry, sir." Vince shrugged apologetically, though he was perfectly fine with <em>not</em> hearing growling.</p>
<p>Daniel was more Daniel about it. "You going nuts?"</p>
<p>Sven shot him a death glare, though the same thought had occurred to him. <em>It's finally happened. This damn mission has eradicated what was left of my sanity.</em> It had only been a matter of time, really… "Let's just keep moving."</p>
<p>"It could be something echoing on the water," Pidge suggested. He was getting progressively more uncomfortable, centered mostly on the hole in his chameleon suit where his shoulder blade had been slashed in the arena. Trying to puzzle out mysterious noises seemed preferable to focusing on the fact that his skin felt mildly scorched. "Maybe we should go upstream after all? This lake seems a bit large to go all the way around right now."</p>
<p>"It is pretty big," Vince agreed, and gave Sven a guilty look. "And quiet. Seems weird."</p>
<p>Though he doubted it had been an echo, the growling did seem to have stopped, and Sven had already figured they'd need to turn around sooner rather than later. "Seems for the best. Let's go."</p>
<p>"We don't even know what we're looking for," Pidge said quietly as they turned and started north.</p>
<p>"Voltron would be nice," Daniel suggested.</p>
<p>"That's my point." Of course they were looking for Voltron. But aside from a castle, they really didn't even know what looking for Voltron entailed—for that matter, even if they <em>found</em> the castle, it may or may not actually help them.</p>
<p>"Doubt we'd miss robot cats… er, lions." Vince shrugged at Daniel, who shrugged back. "Right now we're just looking for Drules, aren't we? And hoping they stay absent."</p>
<p>"Signs of civilization would also be nice," Sven pointed out. The castle, or anyone who could direct them to the castle. Slim though it was, it was their only lead.</p>
<p>Maybe it would be nice, but it didn't seem likely. "Civilization the nonexistent Drules missed, hopefully." Daniel didn't really sound hopeful.</p>
<p>"I had expected to run into <em>some</em> of them by now." Fog didn't explain the lack of detection. Nor the lack of even a single foot patrol—a water source was the sort of thing Sven would expect invaders to secure quickly. "I'm not sure if we should be relieved or worried."</p>
<p>"Yeah, me either." Vince <em>was</em> worried, of course, but whether he should be or not was another question.</p>
<p>Pidge's shoulder was becoming too much to ignore, and they hadn't actually checked over the beach, so he crossed the sand and had a look around there. Swirls and patterns that definitely weren't from the water were visible. The water itself was cool and clear, and didn't smell salty, so he scooped up a handful and poured it down his back before returning to the others; the burning sensation faded a bit. "There's places in the sand where someone's obviously covered their footprints," he reported. "No telling how long ago, though."</p>
<p>Once again, Sven wasn't sure if that was something that should worry or relieve him. Nor was Vince. "Did they look Drule?" Immediately he winced at he realized what he'd just said. <em>That was a dumb question</em>.</p>
<p>"Can footprints look Drule?" Daniel didn't even sound snarky; he genuinely wanted to know. Tracking wasn't his thing.</p>
<p>"No idea." <em>Yep. Dumb</em>.</p>
<p>"Unlikely." It sounded like Pidge wanted to elaborate on that, but he didn't, which was odd enough for Vince to give him a closer look. He still seemed <em>off</em>.</p>
<p>"Are you alright?"</p>
<p>"Fine, mechka."</p>
<p>He'd said that <em>much</em> too quickly, but Vince was not about to push. With a shrug, he followed the others back towards the river. Sven remained in the lead, and found himself thinking more and more about the growling. He hadn't heard it since… he wasn't sure if he thought that was good or bad either.</p>
<p>Honestly, he was getting tired of not knowing how he felt about things.</p>
<p>They were some ten minutes from the lake when something rose out of the fog—something that was at least thirty feet away rather than the usual five, and also something that was definitely not natural. Wooden beams and ropes cut through the low clouds above the river; it looked like it was probably a bridge.</p>
<p>"Yo!" Daniel pointed. "Civilization!" He picked up the pace and just as quickly dialed it back down again. It was a bridge, alright. But the timbers were rough and a few of the ropes were frayed, and it generally didn't inspire much confidence. If any. "…Sort of."</p>
<p>Even that seemed a little hopeful, though. "Cool, something manmade… Arusmade?"</p>
<p>"The point is that it was made at all. Proof that there was some sort of civilization here at some point."</p>
<p>"Hope they're still here."</p>
<p>Pidge looked between Vince and Sven, and grimaced for reasons unrelated to his shoulder. "It's not… encouraging. But the fact that it exists is meaningful, and that it hasn't been destroyed also seems meaningful, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>"Yes." Sven was eyeing the bridge carefully. It was shabby, but it looked solid enough, and he thought he might actually see hints of blue sky on the other side. It gave him a strangely optimistic feeling. "Let's cross it."</p>
<p><em>Cross the mysterious bridge in the fog on the hostile alien planet. Sure, why not? </em>Yet again Vince found himself thinking about how he'd just wanted to do wiring. But it did seem like a positive sign, so… "Should we make a wish? Is that a thing? I feel like that should be a thing."</p>
<p>"Why would we…?"</p>
<p>"I don't think it's a thing." Though as they reached the first steps Daniel decided to make one anyway. "I wish that this bridge doesn't break when we cross it."</p>
<p>Well, if it wasn't a thing it really should be. "I wish for Arusians."</p>
<p>Looking between them, Sven couldn't help a slight chuckle. "I wish that both of those wishes come true."</p>
<p>Pidge found himself wishing he understood what the hell was the deal with humans. It wasn't a new wish.</p>
<p>Their navigator was the first onto the bridge, finding it somewhat more sturdy than he would've expected. There was some give in the floor planks, but the handrails were solid. Vince followed closely, ready to hide behind the Viking if necessary the moment they emerged from the fog, and stepping pretty much exactly where Sven stepped.</p>
<p>Behind them, Daniel was slightly less cautious, and about a third of the way across he stepped down on a particularly rickety plank. The brittle wood snapped beneath his heel. He yelped; Vince yelped louder at the sharp <em>crack</em> from behind him, whipping around in a panic.</p>
<p>Sven turned too, not quite so panicked but ready to spring into action if needed. What he found was a wide-eyed gunner staring down at the broken beam and clutching the handrails <em>way</em> too tightly. That was clear from his flinch as he pulled his bad hand back; with his good hand he offered their leader a thumbs-up. It was just one plank, he hadn't really been in danger. It was just <em>loud</em>.</p>
<p>"…Please don't get hurt," Sven muttered before turning and starting forward again. "Any of you. I have no desire to explain any injuries you get." <em>Especially</em> having to explain anything Daniel did to Lance, but it did apply to all of them. He was supposed to be the responsible one around here.</p>
<p>"Careful is my middle name," Vince assured him, sighing. He could do without his teammates freaking him out like that.</p>
<p>On the other side of the bridge, the fog gave way quickly, and Sven stepped from the cloud into… well, not a cloud. They were standing in what appeared to be a meadow, nestled in the shadow of the northern mountains. The meadow the castle was in, presumably—though they needed a better sense of the Drule presence before actually approaching the castle became an option. "All I see is plant life."</p>
<p>The others didn't care how unimpressive the meadow was. "But we can see it!"</p>
<p>"I can see more than five feet in front of me!"</p>
<p>Trailing a ways behind them again, Pidge stepped into the sun as the others looked around and immediately gave a strangled cry. Suddenly it wasn't just <em>discomfort</em>—every bit of exposed skin was on fire.</p>
<p>"Pidge!"</p>
<p>"What's wrong?"</p>
<p>"Ninja?"</p>
<p><em>Mijtairra</em>. He yanked his hood up and shook his head, cursing more under his breath. It all made perfect sense now. "It's nothing, it's just bright, I was startled…" Adjusting his chameleon suit he managed to cover a couple of smaller cuts, though the large one over his shoulder blade still burned. "I'm fine."</p>
<p>"Uh, you don't seem fine," Vince protested. So much for not getting freaked out again.</p>
<p>Sven looked equally skeptical. "I know I said no injuries, but if you <em>do</em> have one it's better to disclose it."</p>
<p><em>Damn it</em>. Pidge sighed. He felt stupid, he'd been holed up on a ship for weeks, plus the time on Korrinoth. He should've known. "Really, it's not worth—" <em>Stop it. Don't harm the team for your ego. Flynn would not approve</em>. "…it's the sunlight."</p>
<p>"…The sunlight?" That didn't answer anything.</p>
<p>"Baltans aren't adapted to sunlight," he explained, gesturing to the cut on his back. He had no doubt it was bright red already. "The treatment I used to protect against it was on the <em>Bolt</em>. It's worn off."</p>
<p>Vince's eyes widened. "Then what are you doing out in it?!"</p>
<p>"I didn't know it had worn all the way off until I came out here!"</p>
<p>Now that he mentioned it, Sven remembered hearing something about this. One of <em>many</em> rants he'd heard about the team's medical eccentricities. It was more than an eccentricity now… they were about to be down their ninja when they most needed capable scouts. But the alternative simply wasn't acceptable. "You need to return to the ship."</p>
<p>Pidge waved that off. "It's fine. I can keep my hood up, it'll go through the holes in my suit, but…"</p>
<p>Sven opened his mouth to insist, only to have Vince—<em>Vince?</em>—beat him to it. "Just get… just get…" He stabbed a finger in the direction of the <em>Falcon</em>. "WE ARE GOING BACK."</p>
<p>Everyone stared at him for a moment; Pidge finally managed the immediate question. "We?"</p>
<p>"Yes. I'm going with you." Vince looked at Sven; he supposed he hadn't asked permission for that, but he also didn't trust the ninja to actually go back without supervision.</p>
<p>Nor did Sven, who nodded. "There's no reason to make it worse. Go back to the ship, stay together. Daniel and I will look around a bit more before heading back." There wasn't a lot they could do in an open meadow, but at least they could follow the river a little further.</p>
<p>"…Okay." Pidge was not wholly sure what to make of all this concern, but he could tell he'd lost the argument. "Yessir."</p>
<p>"Come on," Vince muttered, grabbing the ninja's hand and practically dragging him back into the fog with a glare. He had never felt so much like he was taking after his moms, but he was pretty sure he'd also never had so much <em>reason </em>to act like them. "And you call <em>me</em> mechka…"</p>
<p>"You <em>are</em> a mechka," Pidge retorted. He was being very mechka-like right now, in fact.</p>
<p>"Not in this moment."</p>
<p><em>"Especially</em> in this—wait." The whole context abruptly hit him. "Are you calling me one?" Vince didn't even deign to answer that with words, just shot a pointed look to a cut in his suit where the skin was blistering. "…I think you missed the concept. Mechka are cute."</p>
<p>Vince snorted. He was talking to a sixteen-year-old ninja who had the social skills of a feral pineapple. "You're cute."</p>
<p>Stopping dead in the fog, Pidge stared blankly at him—again—and tried to figure out how the hells he was meant to respond to that. Finally he settled for waving his knife a bit halfheartedly; it looked more like Hunk brandishing the galley knives than any kind of actual threat.</p>
<p>It worked about as well, too. "I know what that really looks like, remember." Vince <em>had</em> reflexively flinched for about half a second, but the actual fear had never settled in. He just slowly shook his head until the ninja lowered the knife in defeat.</p>
<p>"…Let's just go…" <em>Or was that a victory?</em></p>
<p>"Yes. Let's." And then the other engineer was dragging him off again.</p>
<p>As the other two vanished entirely into the fog, Daniel looked at Sven and gave his very smirkiest smirk. He'd managed to keep his mouth shut about the ninja's sunburn problems, because he didn't want to die, but he could only maintain that for so long. "So, just you and me, huh?" The impending snark was practically dripping from his tone.</p>
<p>Sven slowly raised an eyebrow, then turned away and motioned wordlessly for the gunner to follow. <em>This was probably a mistake.</em></p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The team in the foothills was not getting any better visibility as the elevation increased. Probably should've anticipated that; they'd hit the fog in the <em>Falcon</em> well above the mountains. But still, they might find something useful. Or Drules, which were not useful, but would at least be educational.</p>
<p>All they'd found so far was fog. "I hope this place isn't just Planet Pea Soup."</p>
<p>"Yeah same, should at least get some chicken noodle sometime." Romelle gave Hunk a bewildered look at that, but didn't bother to ask for elaboration. She was getting somewhat used to this.</p>
<p>Keith's stomach growled softly. They'd been trying to stretch the food they had aboard the <em>Falcon</em> as far as possible, now that they'd committed to this venture. No telling when they would be able to restock. They weren't starving themselves, but they weren't exactly eating <em>well</em>, either. "I wouldn't mind some ham and potato chowder about now…"</p>
<p>"Well, we've still got some potato-adjacents on the ship. Not so much on the ham." Hunk looked around. "Think there's anything to hunt here?" They might need to know that sooner rather than later, for chowder or otherwise.</p>
<p>Now that he mentioned it, though… "I'm not seeing any signs of life." Lance couldn't help thinking of home. It had been beautiful and alive there once too, before the Galra. Now… "I wish we'd find <em>something</em>."</p>
<p>Stepping over a fallen log, cresting another hill, Hunk peered through the fog and shook his head. "Kinda don't think this is where the Drules would be settin' up camp, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, doesn't seem like it. Let's get to some higher ground, boss?"</p>
<p>"Good idea. Maybe we can get above this fog yet." Keith really felt like they should at least have found a break in the cover by now. Then again, perhaps they had—maybe it was just that there wasn't much to see.</p>
<p>Romelle carefully picked her way through the brush behind them, more glad than ever to have proper clothes again. "The Drules would probably have set up in the capital… though the governor may have taken up residence in the castle itself."</p>
<p>"Sounds about right for those assholes," Lance snorted. "Bet the survivors are pretty well pissed."</p>
<p>"Where <em>is</em> the capital?" Hunk asked. Iffy as the ground scans had been, they'd have been able to pick up an actual <em>city</em>. "Didn't look like there was any kind of major settlement around here."</p>
<p>"If I remember the tales correctly, there was a village near the castle… who knows if it was still there, even before the Drules attacked." Pausing, Romelle tried to remember anything about the capital city of Arus. It had not featured much in what tales she knew; the old castles and lost beauty of the planet were more likely to capture the imagination. "I think the capital is called Falastol, but I can't tell you where it is."</p>
<p>"Guess we'll get to that at some point, yeah? Unless we can find this Voltron without it…" She'd said the castle was probably the place to start. If it <em>wasn't</em> near wherever the Drules were keeping most of their stuff, so much the better. But still… <em>how the fuzzmuffins are we supposed to find a bunch of robot lions around here?</em> This plan had seemed better when they were still in space.</p>
<p>Suddenly, as they moved up a particularly steep hill, the fog broke. Lance looked around, grinning. Above them he saw a sky that was a brighter, richer blue than any he'd ever seen on Earth… but he'd seen that color before. "Beau Terre blue," he murmured, reflexively looking around for Flynn. <em>Damn it</em>. Stopping cold, he closed his eyes and pushed it away.</p>
<p>Hunk came up next to him. "Alright, bro?"</p>
<p><em>Not really.</em> "…Always, right?" <em>This sky is like home.</em> "Let's keep moving."</p>
<p>Keep moving. Right. Keith made his way forward, trying to figure out where the boundaries of this clear spot actually were. "Fog can be so strange," he murmured.</p>
<p>"It's so quiet," Romelle whispered, moving a little past him. Even the wind seemed muted, ruffling the edges of the fog and the scrubby grass around them.</p>
<p>Hunk made a face. "It's creepy."</p>
<p>"No point staying here. Let's see if we can find a better vantage point, if we've found the edges of this stuff." Their commander beckoned for them to follow, back into and out of fluctuations in the fog as they moved deeper into the hills.</p>
<p>A low rumble broke the silence. Lance stopped, ears perking up as he looked around; he could see the shadows of mountain peaks in the distance, but nothing else looked notably different. But it was the first sound he'd heard that seemed worth worrying about. <em>Is that growling?</em></p>
<p>"Lance?"</p>
<p>Turning back to the others, he realized nobody else was searching for the source of the sound. They were all just looking at <em>him</em>, puzzled. "Uh…" He shrugged. "Anyone hear that, a minute ago? Think there might be an animal?"</p>
<p>Keith and Hunk both stepped a little away from each other, listening carefully; both shook their heads. It seemed quiet as ever. Romelle shook her head also, her voice very soft. "I didn't hear anything."</p>
<p>"Huh. Could've sworn…" The growl was gone, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. He had <em>not</em> been imagining it. …Had he? "Weird. Maybe it's just this place, like Hunk said, it's creepy…" <em>But it reminds me of home</em>. In truth, that was kind of creepy too. They'd barely gotten here, why should it feel so familiar?</p>
<p>"Kinda wouldn't mind seein' an animal right now," Hunk said absently. "Even if it wants to eat our faces, be less freaky than all this <em>nothin'</em> is, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Any sign of life would be good," Lance agreed. Romelle definitely did not agree, and clutched her gaive'llar a little tighter as she shot Hunk a worried look.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, Keith started moving forward again. "Well, let's keep it down. See if we hear it again." And to his own surprise, his team actually managed to proceed in silence.</p>
<p>…For about two more hills. Then, pushing aside a few thick branches, it was Keith's turn to freeze.</p>
<p>There was a <em>house</em>.</p>
<p>Hunk ran into Keith; Lance ran into Hunk. "Uh, what's with the traffic jam?" He hadn't heard any more growling, and was strangely disappointed by that fact.</p>
<p>Having been run into by Hunk, never mind Lance, Keith stumbled forward into the clearing. Not how he'd have <em>preferred</em> to proceed, but he was here now and nobody was yelling or shooting… he moved forward, the others following, and Romelle gasped softly as she saw what was in front of them.</p>
<p>"A house?" Lance eyed it curiously. One of the walls and half the roof looked to be caved in, and the rest was overgrown with thick vines. But it definitely was, or had once been, a house. In the middle of absolutely nowhere in the foothills. "Feels out of place."</p>
<p>"Some neighborhood," Hunk agreed, moving forward to poke at the vines. "This wasn't bombed. Plants would've gotten scorched, yeah? Looks like they just… bailed on it. Ages ago, probably."</p>
<p>Moving forward, Keith looked in the window, but saw nothing and gave a sigh of relief. "No one's here." A place like this would make a good spy post, in theory—but he supposed there wasn't anything nearby to spy <em>on</em>.</p>
<p>"Just got lucky," Lance snorted. He could've told the boss nobody was here, because he'd looked at the structure for two seconds.</p>
<p>Romelle had started to circle the clearing when something on the wall caught her attention. She moved closer, looking at it… and it <em>moved</em>, beady black eyes blinking up at her. With a half-suppressed shriek she scrambled back to Hunk, who caught her and looked at what she'd run from.</p>
<p>"Whoa, calm down, it's just…" He fell silent for a moment as the scaly thing blinked at him. "…It's so <em>cute!"</em></p>
<p>"You would think that," Lance snickered, lowering the gun he'd drawn as he got a good look at the creature. It was some sort of glossy reddish… lizard thingy. "Though yeah, it is. Hiya, Lizzie." The lizard thingy blinked slowly back at him.</p>
<p>Romelle's cheeks burned bright red beneath her markings. "Sorry, it… it just scared me."</p>
<p>"We're on a ghost planet." Lance shrugged. "Getting spooked is healthy."</p>
<p>"At least there's still something alive around here," Keith agreed with a grin.</p>
<p>"Better lizards than Drules, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Hell yeah. Fucking Drules."</p>
<p>"That's the truth."</p>
<p>Shaking her head, Romelle got herself back under control and looked around at them. They'd been ready to rescue her from the… lizard thingy… without hesitation. This was hardly her area of expertise, but she still felt she needed to pull her weight better. <em>You can do this, Romelle.</em> "Sorry for frightening you all."</p>
<p>"Eh, we've been frightened worse."</p>
<p>"Didn't do much explorin' the wilderness before now, huh?"</p>
<p>"No." That could've felt like mockery, but Hunk's tone was as friendly as ever. "I always thought I would like animals and nature, but I never was allowed to explore much, being a royal and all…"</p>
<p>"Being royal sounds like no fun," Lance observed.</p>
<p>"No kiddin'," Hunk agreed, patting her shoulder. "What's the point bein' a royal if you can't tell people you'll explore if you wanna explore?"</p>
<p>She couldn't help a grim chuckle at that. <em>If only</em>. Her bloodline had not helped her much at all, had it?</p>
<p>As the adrenaline of the lizard sighting faded, they all looked back at the house. It still looked very broken down, very abandoned… and very much the only sign of civilization they'd seen yet. "Don't suppose a robot lion is in there?"</p>
<p>"It seems unlikely." Keith grimaced. "But we probably should check it out… though I'm kind of afraid of what we might find."</p>
<p>"What, think there are ghosts?" Lance laughed, getting an odd look from Romelle, but he was as used to getting odd looks from her as she was used to giving them. "Probably just some of Lizzie's pals, if anything…"</p>
<p>"No, I'm just afraid there might be bodies," the commander answered flatly. Lance stopped in his tracks.</p>
<p>"Oh sure, just <em>had</em> to spoil the fun."</p>
<p>"Ghosts were fun?" Hunk asked, circling around to the broken wall.</p>
<p>"Lizards were fun."</p>
<p>Romelle swallowed. Ghosts she wouldn't have minded. <em>Bodies… encouraging.</em> But she followed as Keith tried the door, finding the knob stuck or locked. Lance stepped up next to him and just gave it a good shove; the latch sprang free of some rotted wood and clattered to the floor, and the door swung open to reveal…</p>
<p><em>It's just a house.</em> Lance looked around at the emptiness. Just a house, dusty and abandoned, and again he was thinking of the ghost town his own home had become, wondering if all of the houses looked like this…</p>
<p>"It seems… very clean in here, doesn't it?" Romelle asked quietly. There was vegetation and dirt scattered in from the broken wall, but very little in the way of furnishing. She approached the far wall, where a glyph in the Mother Tongue was carved into the wall. <em>Peace</em>. It sent a strange pang through her, yet this ruined place did feel strangely peaceful. More deserted than dead.</p>
<p>Lance regained his voice, starting to notice the same things. "This place feels super abandoned. Untouched, almost."</p>
<p>"It does seem a bit strange." Keith nodded. "But being closed up for so long…" What had they expected? He wasn't honestly sure.</p>
<p>"It's creepier," Hunk announced. He'd walked in the hole in the back, through a bedroom that had nothing at all except for the bed. "Looks more like they moved out than died, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it's possible. It does seem like this place is pretty far away from anything. Maybe they just got tired of being alone…" Keith couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something, but hell if he knew what. And even if they <em>were</em>, if it wouldn't lead them to Voltron it wasn't a priority right now.</p>
<p>"True that. Be a cool place to rock out without trouble from the neighbors, but that's about it. Didn't even see a path out there."</p>
<p>"Maybe it's a vacation house or something?" Lance suggested with a shrug. Just more questions, as usual. <em>Was hoping for a clue, at least</em>.</p>
<p>"Could be a retreat home?" Romelle suggested at the same time, and smiled sheepishly as he laughed.</p>
<p>"Two of us said it, it must be true."</p>
<p>Keith shook his head, chuckling a little himself. "Well, I think we've found all we can here. Let's keep going, see if we can find any more clear spots before we have to head back to the ship."</p>
<p>"Sounds good. Faster we get back, the faster Hunk can make us faux potato soup."</p>
<p>"Fauxtato," Hunk corrected, grinning wide. "That's their name now."</p>
<p>"Fucking right it is!"</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Keith turned and headed out the door, with the others trailing behind him. Romelle was the last out, glancing back at the peace glyph on the wall. It felt like a good omen, she thought… or maybe she just wanted it to be. But hope was important right now. As she turned away, she caught sight of the lizard and giggled softly. "Bye, little one," she murmured, then rushed to catch up to the others.</p>
<p>The salamander puffed a tiny cloud of sparks behind her, and an unheard growl echoed through the clearing.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Even before Larmina found him, Coran had been on alert; her report had confirmed what he'd feared. Comparing notes of what they'd seen and heard, there was no mistake. A spacecraft had passed by the castle. Coran himself hadn't gotten a good look at it; by the sound, he could tell it hadn't been Drule engines, that ominous roar that had become so familiar. But then who would it be? An ally bravely coming to offer help? Or more likely, potential spies, seeking to flush any remaining Arusians out to gain favor…</p>
<p>It really didn’t matter to him, in the end. The first step was the same. Heading down to the tunnels, Coran called out for some scouts. Two members of the volunteer militia stepped forward, introducing themselves as Private Dev and Private Karp. He was still getting to know the new volunteers, but they were as crucial now to Arus as any career soldier.</p>
<p>"We have confirmed reports of a ship flying by, disappearing in the fog over the lake. I need you to go down there and search the area," Coran ordered. "I have every reason to believe that it landed in the fog; if it did, we must find it. It probably isn't a Drule ship, but we don't know its intentions. Use caution." The scouts nodded, eager to perform such an important task, and headed out of the tunnels.</p>
<p>It took awhile to reach the eastern shore of the lake, still engulfed by the thick spring fog. Such groundbound clouds weren't uncommon to the region. It seemed quiet, but that was no reason for them to lower their guard. Fortunately, they knew the terrain well; the pair had scouted here recently, and even before the Drules came, this had been one of their favorite fishing spots. Anything new would jump out.</p>
<p>Something did, a dark shape looming at the water's edge. Karp paused and tapped his friend's arm before moving closer. "Hey Dev, what do you make of this?"</p>
<p>"Hmm…" Scratching his chin, Dev circled a bit, trying to get a better look. The formless mass remained just that. "Kind of hard to make out." Checking their weapons, they exchanged nods and moved forward.</p>
<p>Slowly walking up to it, they could see it was certainly no ship. A bundle of unidentifiable things, scraps of various materials, all seemingly fused together… Dev snorted as it dawned on him what they were seeing. Part of a compressed cube of trash, most likely bound for the lake itself.</p>
<p>It looked like military waste; Karp snorted derisively at a bit of sheet metal with visible Drule markings. "Damn Drules… you would think the damned sinycka who think <em>sooo</em> highly of themselves would know how to properly dispose of trash."</p>
<p>"You'd think," Dev agreed, shaking his head. "Whatever. Let’s check the area some more, but yeah… what Coran heard might just have been this crap." It wouldn't be the first time careless Drules used the Arusian wilds as a dumping grounds.</p>
<p>As they continued along the beach, the water behind them rippled. Two dark eyes peered out from a brightly-colored spiral shell, watching the scouts move along the shore. But they were not the ones it was meant to be watching… as the gorca plunged back beneath the surface of the lake, a soundless growl rippled through the depths.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Maddening Calls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sleep aboard the <em>Falcon</em> was brief and restless. Everyone could feel the clock ticking. The absence of Drules in their initial scouting was unsettling, but in the absence of any better intel, all they could do was stick to the original plan: find Voltron, somehow, and get out.</p>
<p>It wasn't actually a plan. Nothing that involved the word 'somehow' qualified as a <em>plan</em>. More like wishful thinking. But that was pretty much how an Explorer Team rolled anyway, and hardly even worth bringing up anymore. So they'd left Pidge and Hunk to guard the ship and started out to explore further. They still needed to find this supposed castle… or anything nearby that might give them some clue about their goal.</p>
<p>Today the fog had cleared, and the shabby bridge looked even less inspiring. "Well…" Keith looked at it and grimaced. "Let's hope there's more civilization where that came from."</p>
<p>"There's not," Daniel muttered. He and Sven hadn't gone too far beyond it before, but as far as they'd gone it had been a steaming pile of nothing.</p>
<p>Vince wasn't sorry to have had to go back early and miss all the <em>nothing</em>. To be fair, he probably wouldn't have been sorry to miss it if they'd found <em>something</em>, either. The other team had, though. "Didn't you say you found a house, Commander?"</p>
<p>"We did." Keith stepped cautiously onto the bridge, mindful of what looked like a few weak boards. "Abandoned."</p>
<p>"An abandoned house and a rickety bridge," their gunner snorted. "Peak signs of civilization."</p>
<p>"Saw a lizard," Romelle murmured half to herself, blushing at the memory; immediately Daniel looked more interested.</p>
<p>"What kind of lizard?"</p>
<p>As if Romelle had the slightest idea of <em>that</em>. Lance helpfully jumped in. "A lizardy lizard." As she giggled and nodded agreement with his assessment, he added, "Named it Lizzie, it was cute. You'd probably want to date it."</p>
<p>"That's not…" Glare. "All lizards are cute! But I prefer dating things that walk on two legs."</p>
<p>"Oh, sure. But slithering is okay."</p>
<p>"Bokar walked on two legs! And just because I thought his other form was <em>hot</em> doesn't mean I would have <em>dated</em> him."</p>
<p>"Bokar was <em>evil</em>. If you'd tried to date him he'd have probably made you dinner!"</p>
<p>Though she had no idea who Bokar was, and only minimal idea about dating, Romelle didn't understand the issue with that at all. And she was definitely getting more comfortable with the team's banter, since she barely even hesitated before asking about it. "Isn't having dinner part of a good date?"</p>
<p>"…Yeah that came out wrong," Lance agreed, making a face. "I meant Daniel would <em>be</em> the dinner."</p>
<p>"Hence the 'I wouldn't date him' statement." Daniel didn't understand the issue here either, except that he supposed Lance had to have <em>some</em> comeback handy for the fact that he flew like an old man. "Just because someone's evil doesn't mean they're suddenly unattractive."</p>
<p>Opening his mouth to argue, Lance was silenced by two things; the first was the lack of an immediate argument. Given a little more time he'd probably have found one, but then Keith was off the other end of the bridge and the time for banter was over.</p>
<p>"This as far as you got?"</p>
<p>"Yes." Sven stopped next to him. He'd been ignoring the team's customary nonsense, though it was enjoyable to have the background noise. It felt almost normal, to be in unknown territory with the others bickering about… whatever. "We turned right about there." Pointing a little way up the river, he indicated a hulk of metal—clearly visible today rather than waiting to be tripped over in the fog—that had once been a Drule fighter's vertical stabilizer.</p>
<p>"Alright." The open meadow before them was very… open. But from overhead it had seemed largely enclosed by other terrain. Following the edges felt like the safest plan, and likely the more productive as well. Robot lions weren't just going to be sitting around in an empty field. If they could be certain of anything at all, it was that. "You take Vince and Romelle and head south. We'll head north. Meet back at the bridge in a few hours."</p>
<p>"Yes sir." Sven nodded and looked to his group. "Let's head out." He was not terribly distressed to not be going with Daniel this time; Vince, at least, seemed equally happy to be placed on Team Viking again.</p>
<p>As they departed, Keith looked between Lance and Daniel and sighed inwardly. They'd better be done talking about attractive reptiles for awhile… "Alright. Let's move."</p>
<p>"Keep up, kid," Lance instructed with a smirk as they got moving.</p>
<p>Daniel had been waiting on the bridge; now he jogged to catch up and smirked right back. "Don't worry, just giving you a head start. I know speed isn't exactly your thing."</p>
<p>Snort. "Right, because speed <em>and precision</em> are my thing."</p>
<p>"Sure, whatever you say." He smiled brightly. <em>He gets to rag on my admittedly bad taste in men, I get to rag on his so-called skills!</em> It seemed fair enough to him. Then Lance reached over and ruffled his hair with a grin; his own smile turned into a sulk. "I hate you."</p>
<p>At least they seemed to be in a good mood. Keith shook his head and looked to the sky, which was clear except for thick clouds gathering over the distant mountains. "That's no way to talk to your <em>brother</em>, Daniel." Lance snorted.</p>
<p>"Would you rather me talk to you like that?" the gunner offered immediately. He wasn't bothered by the brother thing. It felt… right? Maybe the word wasn't <em>right</em>, exactly. But it felt fine. Yeah, that was it. "'Cause I've been so good with you. Only saying the smartass comments that <em>really needed</em> to be said. And you make it so easy…"</p>
<p>Lance was still more than a little thrown by the whole <em>brother</em> matter, himself. But it wasn't wrong, either. He looked around as Daniel ranted, still amazed by how much this place looked and felt like <em>home</em>. The meadow stretched off to their right, with the mountains up ahead looking rocky and dark but not ominous. And he felt an odd warmth that didn't seem to be the sunlight, almost curling around him somehow, familiar in a way he couldn't immediately place…</p>
<p>"Either of you warm?" he asked, a little absently. Maybe it was coming off the river somehow.</p>
<p>Keith blinked. "Other than the obvious, no." Even that wasn't so bad, really; he'd have called the direct sunlight comfortable. "Why?"</p>
<p>"Just… feeling a bit warm here."</p>
<p>"Not me." Daniel shrugged. "But I grew up in a desert, I don't really get warm unless it's <em>really</em> hot."</p>
<p>"You sound like Flynn…" It came out before he thought about it, before he could stop it, and he froze dead in his tracks. And as if in response, the feeling of warmth around him seemed to intensify. <em>What?</em> That had to just be his imagination, some grief reaction…</p>
<p>A soft growl echoed somewhere around him, rippling through his chest, and his eyes widened. It was the same sound as he'd heard in the foothills. And it was definitely <em>not</em> his imagination.</p>
<p>Nobody else seemed to have noticed, but Daniel did try very quickly to change the subject. "So what do you think, Lance? Should I stop filtering myself for our dear commander?"</p>
<p>"Huh?" Keith had been trying to shake his own wince off to wonder about the warmth, until Daniel's 'help' registered.</p>
<p>Blinking a few times, looking between them, Lance opened his mouth to ask if they'd heard the growl. Then he stopped. They hadn't heard it, he <em>knew</em> they hadn't, somehow… instead he opted to take Daniel's out. A distraction that <em>didn't</em> just raise more questions would be more than welcome right now. "I say go for it, see if the boss can handle full-on Daniel."</p>
<p>"Hey! I don't get handled."</p>
<p>"Tell me about it."</p>
<p>"I get observed. And enjoyed. And occasionally cursed at." Occasionally. Heh. "But no <em>handling."</em></p>
<p>Keith opened his mouth, closed it, and continued walking without another word. Nothing he could say here would get him in any less trouble.</p>
<p>Saying nothing didn't really help him either; Lance laughed. "Bossman you can't outwalk him, he is right, he's fast."</p>
<p>"Aw. That's like, the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Wiping away a single fake tear, Daniel picked up the pace and caught up with Keith again. "But he's right, and it doesn't help that you've been doing a whole lot of sitting in that command chair…"</p>
<p>The commander gave him a <em>look</em>, which was answered with another big smile, and briefly considered challenging the kid to a race. This really wasn't the time or place, so he just arched an eyebrow and kept walking.</p>
<p>Another growl drew Lance's attention, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck standing up again. All of his instincts were screaming. Screaming what? What the hell did it mean? Except for the distinct possibility that he was losing it, anyway.</p>
<p>He'd fallen behind, almost in his own personal fog this time, and Keith looked back when he didn't continue the snark. "Lance?"</p>
<p>"I'm here…" He shook his head, looking up and down the riverbank. The bridge was far out of sight by now. "Just, this whole lot of <em>nothing</em> is creepy." <em>And I'm hearing things.</em> The nothing might have been less creepy if the nothing hadn't been making noises only he could hear.</p>
<p>Daniel eyed him. "You okay?"</p>
<p>"Always, kid."</p>
<p>Though he'd given his cockiest smile, the kid was <em>not</em> completely certain he believed it. But he wasn't nearly as confident in his own lie detector abilities as Lance always seemed to be, so he just narrowed his eyes and turned away. They'd see how long that bravado lasted.</p>
<p>"You would think we'd hear more wildlife," Keith agreed.</p>
<p>"Or see it." Lance <em>was</em> hearing it.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I wanna see lizards." If anything could make all this weirdness a little less objectionable, it was lizards.</p>
<p>For awhile they quieted down, finding more wreckage but little else to speak of. It was clear that the debris had been scavenged at some point, critical components and even armor sheets and struts pried away, leaving only the damaged partial frameworks to rust in the wilderness. Luckily, they hadn't found any dead bodies… though Keith had dared hope they might find a <em>living</em> one or two. Even if the locals couldn't help them find Voltron, being able to sneak a few refugees away from the Drules would feel like something worthwhile.</p>
<p>Though where <em>were</em> the Drules?</p>
<p>A flicker of motion caught his eye and he snapped his head up, but it wasn't an approaching ship. Just a distant flash over the mountains. The clouds were still gathering there, dark and ominous. "Looks like a storm coming."</p>
<p>"What?" Daniel looked up, following his gaze. "It's blue skies. Pretty blue skies."</p>
<p>"I just see Beau Terre blue," Lance agreed, frowning slightly.</p>
<p>"What's Beau Terre?"</p>
<p>He flinched slightly at the question and looked at Daniel, who of course had no idea what he'd just asked. "Oh, uh…" What he got for letting it slip, he supposed. "It's where I'm from, the planet I grew up on. Sky here is the same blue." He'd done at least a relatively decent job of keeping his tone casual.</p>
<p>"Oh. Cool." Daniel was pretty sure Utah blue wasn't a thing.</p>
<p>"Look. Thunderheads." Their commander pointed to the mountains, as another flicker of lightning danced in the dark clouds. Still distant, but…</p>
<p>"…I've got nothing, boss, and my eyes are sharp."</p>
<p>"You losing your mind?" Daniel felt like he'd asked something very similar, very recently. He didn't think he liked it.</p>
<p>Looking between them, then back to the mountains, Keith hesitated a moment. <em>Lightning and warmth</em>. "Lance, you don't think…"</p>
<p>Their pilot was trying hard <em>not</em> to think, truthfully. "Think what?"</p>
<p>"…Nothing. We'd better keep moving."</p>
<p>"And do what, find more nothing?"</p>
<p>It did pretty much amount to that. But Keith wanted to reach the mountains now, if only to see the stormclouds and confirm that he wasn't crazy. Or, he supposed, to not see any stormclouds and find out that he <em>was</em> crazy. It would be good to know, in theory.</p>
<p>"Speaking of nothing, anyone starting to get really freaked out that there's no Drules?" As Daniel asked it they picked through a scattering of scorched bolts and wiring. The signs of the battle for this planet were everywhere, but the combatants were nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>"Does seem weird, can't say I want to see them, though…"</p>
<p>"It's a big planet." <em>Really?</em> Keith made a face. That observation sounded lame even to himself.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but aren't we allegedly near the castle?"</p>
<p>"I feel like we're in that moment in every horror movie where the one dumb chick hears the strange noise coming from her closet, but when she opens it there's nothing there." Daniel snorted. "Then she dies."</p>
<p>Lance eyed him, more unsettled than he cared to admit by the analogy. It wasn't exactly wrong. And then, as if he weren't freaked enough, he heard the growl again. <em>Not now!</em></p>
<p>To his shock, it faded away. And then he got an even bigger shock.</p>
<p>"I've never watched a horror movie…"</p>
<p>"WHAT." He and Daniel both whipped around to look at Keith, exchanging looks of disbelief that rapidly became resignation. Of course he'd never—</p>
<p>"Unless you count the Wizard of Oz? Dad loved that movie."</p>
<p>"That is not a <em>horror movie!"</em></p>
<p>"Though it does have some outright creepy parts… classic or remake?"</p>
<p>"Classic."</p>
<p>"Okay, you get partial credit." Lance made a mental note to tell Hunk the boss had never seen a horror movie. Someday they would fix that. Hopefully.</p>
<p>Daniel wasn't convinced that deserved partial credit, but then, there was some creep factor to it. "The lion man always wigged me out."</p>
<p>"…Really?"</p>
<p>"He wasn't so bad. It was those damn flying monkeys, for me."</p>
<p>"They didn't bother me. Lion guy was just so…" The kid shuddered. "Furry."</p>
<p>Lance snickered. "Well, good thing the lions we're looking for are metal."</p>
<p>"Lions don't usually bother me. Just <em>that one</em>."</p>
<p>"So snake men great, furry fake lion men nope?"</p>
<p>"Oh my God, when are you going to let that go?"</p>
<p>Smirk. "Never."</p>
<p>Keith had found his eyes on the mountains again, watching for more lightning. The flickers were still faint. He felt a question coming up and a pang from it, because he knew Cam would've wanted to be here to hear it… all the more reason to ask. "So what caused you to hate birds?" <em>And not flying monkeys?</em> That priority seemed <em>skewed</em>.</p>
<p>Daniel stopped for a moment, then glared between his commander who was seeing lightning that wasn't there, and his definitely-not-a-mentor who was feeling warmth that wasn't there. <em>Know what, fine. </em>He was clearly the only sane person in this group, and if his tale of woe made them feel a little better about going nuts, whatever. "Neither of you are allowed to laugh."</p>
<p>"Alright." Lance didn't say anything, but nodded; the kid was actually going to answer? That was new.</p>
<p>"I was four," Daniel explained. "My mom's funeral had just ended, I was looking adorable in my miniature suit, and I'd just stolen all the dipping bread the adults had the <em>nerve</em> to call finger food in protest of said adorable suit."</p>
<p>The mental image of four year old Daniel at a funeral in a tiny suit made Lance want to punch someone on his behalf, give him appropriate four year old clothing, and ask for pictures all at once. "This goes nowhere good."</p>
<p>Wasn't that the truth. "There was a little park area with a giant pond… I mean okay, it wasn't actually all that big but to four year old me it was giant. I thought the ducks that lived in the pond would like the stupid bread, so I started throwing it to them."</p>
<p>"Ducks?" Keith echoed, and grimaced. He could guess where this was going.</p>
<p>"Not just ducks." Daniel's voice was getting steadily more dramatic. "This whole crowd of birds started gathering, and they all wanted bread, and my chubby little four year old hands couldn't throw the bread fast enough…"</p>
<p>"This goes <em>nowhere</em> good," Lance repeated under his breath.</p>
<p>"They all surrounded me," he was gesturing wildly now as they walked, "and I chucked the last of the bread and ran for it, but they still wanted more! So they chased me down and swarmed me and pecked me with their <em>horrible death beaks</em> and…" He shuddered. "…And well, apparently nobody else liked the bread, they hadn't even noticed that I'd stolen it, so it took awhile for them to notice that I was gone and needed to be rescued."</p>
<p>"…Damn." Keith was biting down the impulse to at least chuckle. It wasn't funny, but Daniel dramatically howling about horrible death beaks was kind of funny. "I'm sorry."</p>
<p>Lance would've been laughing had it been nearly anyone else, nearly any other situation, but… <em>nobody was watching a four year old kid at his own mother's funeral?</em> "Seriously? Fuck them." He grabbed the kid in a side hug without even breaking his stride. "You've got me now."</p>
<p>Daniel blinked, then side-hugged him back and grinned. He could deal with this. "In conclusion! Birds are pure evil, and bread is not good finger food."</p>
<p>Smirk. "I'm proud you haven't let that incident ruin your love of toast."</p>
<p>"Because toast is a better, less boring version of bread, and using bread as anything other than toast is just <em>shameful." </em>Suddenly he didn't want to be walking around some creepy horror movie planet anymore. He wanted to go back to the ship and have toast.</p>
<p>They were moving into the shadow of the mountains, and Lance was still seething over Daniel's story. He really wanted to punch someone on the kid's behalf. It had very little to do with birds. <em>Why the hell was no one watching him?</em> It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, it wasn't…</p>
<p>The growl washed over him again, warmth wrapping around him, and he could swear he felt a sense of <em>agreement</em> buried in it. Which was just… <em>I really am losing it</em>.</p>
<p>As Lance grumbled to himself and Daniel thought about toast, Keith kept finding his eyes drawn to the mountains. It didn't really feel as though the lightning was getting any more frequent. He thought about asking if the others could see it yet, at least the clouds, but…</p>
<p>A long peal of thunder echoed down from the mountains. No. It wasn't thunder, he realized after a moment. A soft growl, almost a purr, that sent static racing through his veins. <em>That's…</em> he looked to the mountains again, one hand going to his gun, but he didn't draw the weapon. It didn't feel like a threat. It just felt…</p>
<p>"Boss, I think I see your storm starting to come in." A few clouds were beginning to drift in, darkening the sapphire sky. "We're not gonna find anything if it starts dumping on us. Should we start heading back?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I've seen no lizards. This is a bust."</p>
<p>Keith was silent for a moment, listening as the purr faded away, replaced by what definitely was a distant thunderclap. "Yeah…" Without comms or provisions, they didn't want to get caught in a storm in unfamiliar terrain. But suddenly, he didn't <em>want</em> to go back.</p>
<p>Lance frowned, noting his wary stance. "You alright?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine. Just… thought I heard something." Lance had mentioned a growl in the foothills, hadn't he? "Maybe that same animal you heard yesterday?"</p>
<p>"Yeah…" The urge to say he'd been hearing it today too came and went. He hadn't heard anything when Keith froze up.</p>
<p>Looking between them, Daniel was reminded yet again of how many times he'd had to ask people if they were going crazy lately. <em>Animals, huh?</em> "Sven thought he heard growling," he said casually.</p>
<p>Both of them spun to stare at him. "What?"</p>
<p>"He did?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, he did. Are you?" He'd asked it because it was the correct question; he wasn't wholly certain he wanted the answer. <em>This is gonna end with me feeling bad for calling him crazy</em>, <em>isn't it?</em></p>
<p>Keith and Lance were staring at each other, their attempts to play things off unceremoniously shattered. "I could swear I heard…"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I have been…"</p>
<p>"Just now…" The commander exhaled slowly and looked back towards the mountains. "It was quiet, but I heard it."</p>
<p>Lance's eyes were drawn off to the west. The storms seemed to mostly be centered over the part of the mountains that the river had cut away; past that, the range ran for a good distance. He was pretty sure the volcano he'd seen as they landed was out that way, and as he looked at the peaks he thought he felt a flicker of warmth again. A thought drifted through his mind as he tried to focus.</p>
<p>
  <em>Are you real?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes, I am."</em>
</p>
<p>"WHAT?!"</p>
<p>Keith whipped around, and this time he did draw his weapon. Daniel had jumped a few steps back. "Lance?"</p>
<p>"Shhhhh." He held up his hand for silence, straining to hear. "I heard… I thought…" <em>Hello?</em> "I'm going nuts."</p>
<p>The growl returned. It was answering him. It was <em>laughing</em> at him, he thought. <em>"In time…"</em> He couldn't quite put his finger on the voice, gruff and ephemeral, barely there but impossible to pretend it <em>wasn't</em> there…</p>
<p>"I mean if you're all hearing growling, maybe there's growling?" Daniel suggested. Though <em>he</em> wasn't hearing any weird growling, and now he was pretty sure he wanted to. Not on its own merits, but he was feeling a little left out.</p>
<p>"It's a <em>voice</em>," Lance answered, shaking his head.</p>
<p>"…Oh."</p>
<p>"…What?"</p>
<p>"It…" He shook his head in frustration. "Growl-talked? Talk-growled? Listen, I heard <em>words</em>, I don't need to fucking lose my mind here!" He clenched his fists and felt the warmth and that was it, he knew. "The metal."</p>
<p>"You're hearing voices…" Because it was Lance, and <em>only</em> because it was Lance, Daniel was trying very hard not to sound too worried or judgmental. <em>The metal…</em> "Is this more weird Voltron magic crap?"</p>
<p>"It's got to be more fucking weird Voltron crap." Lance stared at the mountains. "My head hurts."</p>
<p>"We…" Another flash of lightning from the mountains caught Keith's eye, and he shivered. Just a little. "We should get back. We might be closer than we think, but… I don't think we have any idea what we're close to anymore."</p>
<p>"Yeah, let's go. Ask Sven some questions." Sven hadn't reacted to the metal. If he was hearing things too…</p>
<p>Exchanging nods, the three of them turned and started back towards the <em>Falcon</em>.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>
  <em>"Royal cub, awaken! I sensed it…"</em>
</p>
<p>Though the voice shot through her like a thunderclap, Allura struggled to make sense of the words at first. She'd been sleeping, and not for terribly long; the room was only dimly lit by the rising sun. Stumbling as she made her way from her bed, she found herself clumsily sinking to her knees within steps.</p>
<p>Still the voice continued, Black Lion's rumble seeming terribly faint. Speaking from such a distance took enormous effort. <em>"I cannot state for sure when your paths will cross. But now you must wake, royal cub. Be ready. For it would seem that the vision you have dreamt is real."</em></p>
<p>Allura’s eyes widened as the words started to sink in. "My dream…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"They are coming."</em>
</p>
<p>Her mind drifted to the humanoid form within the cloud pillar, the electricity rippling about his shape, and within his eyes… "…coming… oh! I must…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes, you must prepare. The ones we require are among a group. Use all your senses and strength to seek them out. Nudge them towards us, but they must in the end find us on their own. It is the only way to be sure. Now go… awaken yourself, that we may awaken."</em>
</p>
<p>Allura blinked for a moment. While she did feel the Lion of Storms slowly mellow back towards sleep, she could also feel his new alertness. Sharp and urgent. <em>They're coming</em>. With that thought, she pulled herself carefully back to her feet and made her way out to where their food rations were stashed.</p>
<p>Despite all her training, the proper protocols of preparing herself for company immediately flew out the windows. There were priorities. A princess receiving guests might be best-served by the formal clothing hidden underground; a refugee leader in search of an alert mind needed vehka leaves, and fast. The way she stumbled to her stash was proof enough of their importance. With the rest of the castle cleared of all provisions, the three who remained kept their supplies close. What use were the castle kitchens under these conditions?</p>
<p>Larmina was on watch again, and alerted by the sounds of clanking cans. Thinking scavengers had found their way to their food supply, she rushed in with her staff in hand. Instead of critters—or worse, Drules—she found her aunt trying to read labels in the darkened room.</p>
<p>"Umm… Aunt Allura?"</p>
<p>"No, not the vehka leaves either. Where did we put them?"</p>
<p>Oh. Chuckling, she moved into the room and lit a flarestone. "Maybe some light might help?"</p>
<p>Allura groaned and flinched away as the light crossed her eyes. "Perhaps…" She yawned and blinked away the afterimages. Of course light would help; she <em>really</em> had been flustered. "Thank you. Ah, yes… here they are." A small sigh of relief escaped as she picked up the can she was looking for.</p>
<p>"What's got you so eager to start today?" Larmina asked, reorganizing the supplies while Allura started to heat some water. Vehka leaves <em>could</em> simply be chewed for a surge of alertness, but they were utterly disgusting like that.</p>
<p>Perhaps that alertness would have done Allura well, though. In her mix of excitement and exhaustion, the words slipped out before she could really think about it.</p>
<p>"The Lions will be waking soon."</p>
<p>Finishing with the supply cache, Larmina gave Allura a confused look. <em>What now? Is she sleep talking?</em> "Huh?"</p>
<p>"Black Lion woke me," she explained, smiling through her eyes. "He says what they need to awaken is approaching."</p>
<p><em>Black Lion…</em> Larmina bit her tongue. <em>Auntie must have had one heck of a dream.</em> "You know, auntie… aren't the lions just a story told by the priests to keep troublemaking kids in line?"</p>
<p>"No. He is real," Allura replied as she arranged several vehka leaves in a bowl and poured the boiling water over them. Larmina gave her a skeptical look that she barely noticed. "They are all very real. I can’t wait for them to finally be awake…"</p>
<p>Awake? Larmina sat there watching as Allura frothed the leaves and water, then strained the mixture through a filter. It was her aunt who was definitely only half awake right now, yet her suddenly speaking so openly about the lions struck something deep within her.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is this it? That something King Alfor was working on, the thing she's kept hidden from everyone?</em>
</p>
<p>It was hard to tell if her Aunt had fully gone mad, or if she and the High King had been so all along. The stories of the guardian beasts being true seemed crazy, but here was Allura, suddenly so happy about something that couldn’t be real. Even if the tales were true, then the lions were <em>dead</em>, not asleep.</p>
<p>Weren't they?</p>
<p>She was about to try to form that question when Allura finished preparing the vehka brew and took a long swallow. Perhaps too much so; the jolt of alertness pushed her briefly too far the other direction, as strong vehka brews were known to do. "Have to prepare, find something proper, work out the details… ah! Should have asked Black for details!" she yelped, losing a few drops of her drink as she jumped up and dashed back to her room. Larmina shook her head and looked after her, muttering a prayer to whatever gods—or perhaps lions—might be listening that her aunt was not going insane.</p>
<p>Then, with a small frown, she followed.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Being stuck on the <em>Falcon</em> was grating. Pidge had made an attempt to keep himself occupied somewhat productively once the others left. The problem was, without decent proximity scanning, there was nothing useful to <em>do</em> without leaving the ship.</p>
<p>Being stuck on the <em>Falcon</em> with Hunk was doubly grating. He kept trying to be <em>friendly</em>. And since there wasn't a damn thing to do on this ship, they were both sitting in the engine bay pretending to be useful.</p>
<p>He was running through some knife katas; he'd been banned from doing them in the ship's tiny excuse for a gym after cutting one of the mats with a too-enthusiastic flip. The bay wasn't optimal, but there was plenty of space. And it was unsettling his unwanted companion, which was a bonus…</p>
<p>"Yo, quit with the knife-y stuff and talk to me?"</p>
<p>…<em>Mijtairra</em>. Pidge wanted to do very little less than talk to him, but knew saying so would get him nowhere. "Why?" As he snapped it he thought he heard something—a faint ripple in the back of his mind, a hint of a voice. It hit his carefully-tuned psychic barriers, the survival mechanism of a varetya surrounded by telepaths he couldn't fully tune out, and was gone almost before he even registered it. But the sensation reflexively irked him, as if his temper needed to be any <em>worse</em>. "I don't have anything I want to talk about."</p>
<p>Hunk sighed. "Yeah, I know you don't. But <em>something's</em> buggin' you, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah." He scowled and put the knife away. "I should be <em>out there</em>. They need competent scouts, not civilians and loudmouths."</p>
<p>"Ninja, you got all <em>crispy</em> when you went out last. They'll be fine. Chill. Pun totally intended."</p>
<p>…Crispy? "Are you supposed to be helping? Because you're not."</p>
<p>Snort. "Yeah, when do I ever, I know."</p>
<p>Pidge's head snapped up. "Komora…?"</p>
<p>Oh. Crap. <em>That</em> hadn't been what he'd meant to let slip. "I mean, uh… nothin', don't mind it." He stepped away, suddenly fascinated by the engine panels. Not that the engines were doing anything, though as he stepped closer he thought he heard them growling. Why would they be growling on idle? Another flash of frustration. He didn't feel like he belonged here any more than Pidge did, really—the only difference was that he wouldn't have any more of a role out <em>there</em>. He was still so out of his depth, and it didn't seem likely to get better any time soon.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Have faith…"</em>
</p>
<p>"…Huh?" Reflexively he looked back at Pidge, who was still scowling. It was a confused scowl now, though. "Say what?"</p>
<p>"I didn't say anything."</p>
<p>"You…" Hunk stopped the argument before it could start. Pidge had most certainly <em>not</em> said anything. The words had been deep, a gravelly rumble almost more felt than heard. None of those qualities applied to the resident Baltan's light voice.</p>
<p>Had he heard it at all?</p>
<p>What the hell kind of question was <em>that?</em> But as he wondered it, the growl of the engines shifted. An oscillating rhythm that vaguely reminded him of harsh laughter.</p>
<p>
  <em>That's… not the engines.</em>
</p>
<p>He heard the chuckling growl again, and turned back to Pidge, fully aware that he would regret what he was about to ask. "Uh, are the engines soundin' kinda loud to you?"</p>
<p>"…No." Welcoming any excuse to do his job, Pidge looked towards the status panel. "Want me to check down the shafts for incursions? I only hear the usual idle cycle." But then, he'd gotten accustomed to Flynn being able to hear engine issues the rest of them couldn't. Hunk was certainly <em>not</em> so adept, but he was willing to entertain the idea that he wasn't always right himself, either.</p>
<p>Something else tugged at his mind, and he shoved it away before it could form a voice. He did not want to hear it. He'd <em>never</em> wanted to hear it.</p>
<p>Eyeing him carefully, the flicker of irritation that hadn't seemed connected with anything he'd actually said, Hunk nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. Check 'em out. Maybe uh, loosen and tighten up a few screws if ya want? Just to have somethin' to do?"</p>
<p>"Yessir."</p>
<p>…It didn't seem like the time to object to this <em>sir</em> nonsense again. So he watched the ninja go, and almost immediately heard the harsh chuckling growl.</p>
<p>"…You knock that off," he muttered sullenly, unsure which of them he was speaking to. Or, for that matter, why the hell he was taking it so in stride that he was hearing voices.</p>
<p><em>You're not takin' it in stride, you're just refusing to think too hard.</em> Which was his usual preference anyway, but it had never seemed like quite such a good idea as it seemed right this instant. But really… it was kind of impossible <em>not</em> to think, especially once Pidge's footsteps faded and left him in silence.</p>
<p>Lance had heard that growl up in the foothills. Wildlife, he'd thought. But there was damn sure no life aboard the <em>Falcon</em> wilder than him and the ninja, never mind its ability to <em>speak</em>. So what? Was he just going crazy?</p>
<p>"Ain't about to buy that I'm crackin' up <em>now</em>. Woulda happened way before this." He wasn't really sure who he was talking to. "Kinda did happen way before this, so what's new anyway, right?"</p>
<p>The growl rumbled down his spine again.<em>"What are you hiding?"</em></p>
<p>Hunk froze. "Who the hell are you?"</p>
<p>All it got him was a fading chuckle, like a faraway earthquake. <em>"In time… the earth… is patient…"</em></p>
<p>And it was gone.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Black Lion, as ever, sat hunched in his den, silent as the storm began to gather outside. But as Allura stepped from the tunnel she could feel something different. There was an energy around the great lion, a crackle of static that pricked her skin. It would've jolted her to full wakefulness even if the vehka brew had not done its job. Fortunately, it had, and she'd regained her equilibrium from the wild swings of her early waking moments.</p>
<p>"Oh Lion of Storms…"</p>
<p>Golden light flickered in the lion's eyes.<em>"Royal cub. You come seeking more information."</em> His voice felt stronger as well, more alert, though exhaustion was still heavy within it. <em>"But I have little to give."</em></p>
<p>"You said they are coming…" Clasping her hands together in agitation, remembering her dream, Allura fought to remain still. She wanted to run about the den, to work off nervous energy… at least long-forgotten royal functions had trained her to suppress those urges. "But who are they? What brought them here, and how? How am I to receive them—are they Polluxian?" Her earlier theory sprang to mind again.</p>
<p>She heard his low growl, a different frustration than usual. <em>"I know not, royal cub. When you find them, we may know more."</em></p>
<p>A thought occurred to her then. Her father had been searching through so many ancient tales and fragments, without really knowing what it was he was looking <em>for</em>. Perhaps the lions were in the same position: knowing whatever had arrived was of significance, but not precisely how to put it together yet. "We will find them," she promised, eyes set with determination. "I'll ask Coran to lead the search personally, so I can keep a closer eye on things."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes. A wise path. But perhaps first you should attend to your wild cub, who seems most distressed."</em>
</p>
<p>Blinking, Allura started to ask what he meant, then instinct caused her to turn around instead. A flash of fiery orange in the entrance didn't duck away fast enough.</p>
<p>"Larmina!" Her eyes widened in shocked horror, and she looked from her niece to the lion and back. "How did you…?"</p>
<p>"I'm <em>way</em> more stealthy than you think," she muttered, much less smug than might be expected. "Has this… what <em>is</em> that? Has it been here all this time?"</p>
<p>She didn't need to ask, really. The dark metal, the red wings shining on its back… she knew. <em>Black Lion. </em>But the stories hadn't said a damn thing about the lions being <em>machines…</em> had they? More to the point, it was huge and powerful-looking, though a bit dusty. If it had just been <em>sitting here</em> while the Drules attacked…</p>
<p>"He has," Allura confirmed softly, "for longer than we know. And he isn't the only one. My father was trying to find a way to wake them, and I've been continuing his work."</p>
<p>"By yourself."</p>
<p>It felt like a very long time that they stared at each other, and the princess felt her guts clenching. "I… yes. Myself and Coran. He helped my father collect old tales, old clues." It didn't take any spiritual senses to tell just how Larmina felt about that. "This has been the secret of the Crown for centuries. I wanted to tell you, but I <em>couldn't</em>."</p>
<p>"Sure. I understand." Her niece did not sound understanding. "No problem. Want me to go set up some more scout patrols? You can stay here and talk at your lion machine some more."</p>
<p>Sigh. "Larmina—"</p>
<p>"—It's <em>fine</em>, Auntie."</p>
<p>What Allura didn't know, couldn't know, was what was really running through Larmina's mind. King Alfor's charge, forever ago, a mystery meant just for her. The mysterious growls in the forest, and even by the mountains… it wasn't just that she'd been left out. It was the sudden, screaming certainty that she had been <em>meant</em> to be part of this somehow.</p>
<p>But nobody had told her anything but cryptic riddles and promises. And now, she supposed, she didn't matter after all.</p>
<p>"…Will you come with me to the shelters?" Allura asked finally. "We will need more scouts, and I do want to send Coran personally. Which means I'll need your help here more than ever."</p>
<p>Larmina wasn't mollified. Not a bit. But it was her very annoyance that had her intent on proving her worth now… leaving her out had been a mistake. They'd see. "Sure."</p>
<p>Leaving the den in awkward silence, Allura watched her and sighed again. It would be okay. When the lions flew again… she would understand.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Following the river south eventually led to the eastern shore of the lake. It was quiet and empty, of course, except for the periodic debris. Sven was enjoying the silence, though the fact that it was clear and bright and they <em>still</em> hadn't seen a single Drule was starting to get more than unnerving. It felt like something beyond luck by now, like there had to be information they were lacking.</p>
<p>Speaking of information, he still really wanted a map. But he'd kind of given up on that.</p>
<p>"This place sure is quiet," Vince whispered. He didn't want to see any Drules; he supposed he wouldn't have minded seeing a lizard. "Nowhere on Earth is this quiet."</p>
<p>"There are a few places I've hiked to in Norway that are this quiet," Sven countered. "And with about the same looming sense of danger, though in that case it was from wildlife and not from a conquering alien race…"</p>
<p>"Well, there are lizards here, sir."</p>
<p>The navigator chuckled softly. "I heard."</p>
<p>"It was a rather cute little lizard," Romelle admitted. "Even if it frightened me at first."</p>
<p>Lizards being cute didn't sound entirely unlikely to Vince, but it wouldn't have been his first reaction either. "I prefer mice, really. Furry things."</p>
<p>Having never associated either lizards or mice with <em>cute</em>, Sven just arched an eyebrow at the two of them and carried on. No accounting for taste, or so he'd heard.</p>
<p>"I suppose everyone has their preferred animals," Romelle mused. Her mind was on Bandor, the calcatrix Lotor had given him.<em>I hope Bandor is alright… I hope everyone is alright</em>. "And pets."</p>
<p>Vince smirked. "Yeah, and if Daniel sees a lizard he'll probably try to catch it and keep it."</p>
<p>"Probably." Sven chuckled, and his mind drifted to Jace. "Cats are cute."</p>
<p>"My moms have three cats. They're cool." They were also why any hopes Vince might ever have had for pet mice had been a bit of a pipe dream, but it wasn't <em>their</em> fault. And they were demanding and cuddly and occasionally liked to have arguments with him that he didn't understand. So really, kind of like Pidge, but cuter.</p>
<p>His moms also liked hiking—one more than the other, both more than him. Maybe they'd have enjoyed this trek more than he was, if it weren't for the danger lurking… wherever it was actually lurking.</p>
<p>"This must have been quite the battle," Romelle murmured as they passed a mangled metal frame. Then quieter, in Polluxian, "but they still couldn't save themselves…"</p>
<p>Part of Vince wanted to know what she'd said; part of him really didn't. It would be rude to ask, anyway. "I hope some of them survived."</p>
<p>"I'm sure some did." Sven was not actually the least bit sure of anything, but he was hopeful. Very hopeful…</p>
<p>A low growl whispered around him, seeming to rise off the lake, and he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh for the love of…"</p>
<p>"Sir?"</p>
<p>"What is it?"</p>
<p>Well, if he'd had any hope that <em>this</em> might be different than yesterday, those responses erased it. Sighing heavily, he looked back at them. "None of you hear that?" If he hadn't known better—he did <em>not</em> know better—he'd have said the growl that followed almost sounded <em>amused</em>.</p>
<p>Both his companions shook their heads. "Uh, no." The only sound was the faint lapping of the lake water, and for a few moments a whistling breeze over the meadow. "What do you hear?"</p>
<p>"More growling." It was irritating and yet the sound had almost been soothing, which was somehow even <em>more</em> irritating. "I'm losing my mind." It was the only obvious explanation.</p>
<p>Remembering the day before, Vince gave him a look of mixed worry and sympathy. But it was Romelle who offered something close to reassurance… or something even more worrisome.</p>
<p>"Lance said he heard some kind of animal yesterday, scouting the foothills. But no one else did. And we never saw anything but the lizard… I don't think it was the one growling, it was rather quiet."</p>
<p>Oh, so it <em>wasn't</em> just Sven. Vince looked between them and nodded, surprised by how little it freaked him out. Of course people were hearing things. This was his life. Unless it really was a growling lizard, a thought that forced him to suppress a small giggle but didn't feel much like a real possibility.</p>
<p>It seemed unlikely to Sven too, and he brightened. Just a little. "Then maybe I'm not losing my mind." <em>Hopefully.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"You are not."</em>
</p>
<p>Whatever reassurance he'd felt evaporated. "…Either of you just speak?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. It hadn't sounded like either of them. A cool, elegant voice that rippled through him like a wave…</p>
<p>"No…"</p>
<p>"Um, no." Romelle looked very concerned now. "Are you feeling well? It is getting a bit warm, do you need water?"</p>
<p><em>Water?</em> Something about the thought of water felt significant, perhaps even correct, but he couldn't say what. He didn't feel like he <em>needed</em> water. "No, it's not the heat. That's it. I'm legitimately going crazy."</p>
<p><em>"You are not,"</em> the voice said again, and this time the growl alongside it was unmistakably amused.</p>
<p>"That isn't reassuring!"</p>
<p>"Uh…" Vince stared at their navigator, traditionally the least crazy person on the team, with more than a little touch of panic. He <em>needed</em> Sven's sanity in his life. <em>Is he crazy or is he actually hearing things? Wait, why is him hearing things the rational option here?!</em> "What is it you're hearing, exactly?"</p>
<p>"What are you yelling at?" Romelle asked at about the same moment, even more unnerved than Vince.</p>
<p>Taking a step back and looking at their worried expressions, Sven forced himself to regain his composure. Not that he'd really lost all that much of it, but by his standards… he shook his head. "The growling is now a voice," he explained in a light, almost conversational tone that he really wasn't feeling at all. "It's trying to tell me I'm not crazy, but given it's <em>a voice in my head,</em> its arguments are not convincing."</p>
<p>The growl became amused again. Sven was not amused.</p>
<p>Romelle's immediate thought was of her mother, and she shivered a little while looking around. Still nothing but meadow to the left, lake to the right. "It isn't wise to ignore, if you're truly hearing voices. It could have… poor consequences."</p>
<p>"It's probably real," Vince agreed. "I mean, I believe you're not crazy? With the sparks and the weird metals and the…" <em>Weird visions</em>. No, he didn't want to even say that out loud here. "…I mean, our lives are never boring." <em>I wish they were more boring</em>.</p>
<p>"There are… many unexplained things in the universe." It felt like, as with so many things, the soldiers might know that even better than she did—but when someone was concerned about his very sanity, reassurance also seemed like the correct path.</p>
<p>Whether Sven was any more reassured by that than by the voice itself, he wasn't sure, but at least it was good to know they were on his side. "Ignoring it does seem unwise…" Shooting the two of them a slightly nervous look, he shrugged. What did he have to lose, really? "Who are you?" he asked of the unseen voice.</p>
<p>There was a pause before it answered, and he could hear—perhaps feel—it fading away. But the words were clear. <em>"In time you will learn…"</em></p>
<p>…Really? "That," he muttered irritability as the growl faded, "is one of the most frustrating answers I have <em>ever</em> received."</p>
<p>"What did it say?" Vince sounded remarkably nonjudgmental, for someone asking about the mysterious voice in his head.</p>
<p>"'Be patient', but in a somehow much more infuriating way."</p>
<p>"Be patient?" Shrug. "We do that all the time." Not that it <em>wasn't</em> usually infuriating, but at least the answer was nothing worse than usual.</p>
<p>Nodding slowly, Romelle offered, "I've heard that patience is a virtue." It could be on Pollux, and very much so among the Drules; the phrase itself was one she'd learned as such in Common, so she had to assume the same applied to the Alliance.</p>
<p>Though Sven didn't look especially convinced of that, either. "They do say that. It's also said that good things come to those who wait. Usually it's just an excuse for people to sit on their asses and not get anything done."</p>
<p>Vince gawked; Romelle blushed. "Oh…" She understood his point, though something felt unintuitive about it, as well. "…Why would one sit on their pack beast and not do anything?"</p>
<p>"He means your butt, Princess," Vince whispered, much too flustered to forego the title.</p>
<p>It did not clear up her confusion at all, and she blushed even darker. "My butt?" She really needed to brush up on her Common colloquialisms, <em>apparently</em>.</p>
<p>"Not yours specifically… <em>oy</em>." And here he'd thought leaving Pidge on the ship meant things like this wouldn't happen.</p>
<p>"I think it works for either kind of ass," Sven said helpfully. "Because allegedly good things come to those who wait."</p>
<p>"No good comes of you swearing, sir." <em>That</em> much Vince was absolutely certain of.</p>
<p>Blinking, Sven looked back at him, then a small smile tugged at his lips. "Probably not. Guess he finally corrupted me…" It hurt, but he shoved the hurt aside as best he could. Jace would love this, and he was going to let himself be amused by it, <em>damn it.</em></p>
<p>The young engineer smiled too, bittersweet, but genuine. "I'm sure he'd say something colorful to celebrate."</p>
<p>"Yes, he would," Sven scoffed. "And it'd be far worse than anything we could ever imagine."</p>
<p>Now Vince laughed outright. "Yeah, for sure."</p>
<p>Though they hadn't said the name, Romelle had a pretty good idea what was happening, both from the context and the wistful look on the navigator's face. "Your friend…" She pulled the borrowed jacket a little tighter and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry."</p>
<p>"…Thank you," he said, nodding a little stiffly. <em>Get over it</em>. Though he scolded himself, he knew he <em>was</em> getting over it. Slowly, the painful memories were giving way to the good. It hurt, but at least he could smile. That had to be progress…</p>
<p>Walking in silence for a bit, they rounded a bend in the lake and some tall coastal reeds only to find something new up ahead. Sven froze, eyes widening, motioning for the others to stop. Unless he was much mistaken, they'd finally found civilization.</p>
<p>If it could be called that.</p>
<p>Creeping forward, they found another stand of reeds to hide behind, getting a better look at what was in front of them. Not the castle they were looking for, but a village. It looked ruined, and not particularly recently; scorched timbers had tiny new shoots sprouting around them. A tattered blue and gold flag rippled in the wind, just visible from this distance. It didn't look Drule. Yet there was no sign of life anywhere.</p>
<p>"Oh my…" Romelle swallowed hard. Arusian though it was, the village was just… a <em>village</em>. Like so many on Pollux. Whoever had lived here once had nothing to do with the mistakes of their planet's past, and the shiver that ran through her at the emptiness was real and deep.</p>
<p>"It looks deserted," Vince said sadly, straining to see any hint of movement in the ruins. There was nothing. "Are we going to check it out? Or just report back?"</p>
<p>Sven frowned. This wasn't what they'd hoped for, but it wasn't unexpected. And it was dangerous ground—so many corners and shadows, any one of which could be hiding any Drules who'd come back to be sure it was still dead. Or any Arusians, for that matter; they didn't <em>know</em> the natives would be any friendlier. "Report back. I'd rather check it out with a few more of the team, just in case it's not as unoccupied as it seems."</p>
<p>"That… would probably be wise," Romelle agreed. Not that she knew much about reconnaissance risk assessment, but it seemed logical.</p>
<p>"I'm not arguing." Vince knew Sven could handle himself, but he and the princess didn't seem like the most capable backup. Then he hesitated. "Probably should report the uh… voice, too, huh?"</p>
<p>Oh, right. "I suppose." Sighing, the navigator turned. "Yes. We need to decide, as a group, if I'm insane or not." The gods only knew he didn't trust <em>himself</em> to make the assessment just now.</p>
<p>"You still seem very… rational," Romelle said quietly; Vince just snorted.</p>
<p>"Nobody else here has any right to call you insane, Sven. At least, not unless they admit that <em>they</em> are first."</p>
<p>Laughing, he started to lead them back up the lakeshore. At least that point seemed fair.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Unseen and Unheard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neither scout team had wanted to hang around long outside after meeting up again, and they'd returned to the <em>Falcon</em> in uneasy silence. The conversation they were about to have was better held on the relative safety of the ship, even if none of them knew precisely how weird it was really going to be.</p><p>Being an Explorer Team was supposed to make them the kind of crazy that didn't know what was impossible—not the kind of crazy that was actually hearing voices nobody else could hear. It didn't seem <em>fair. </em>But here they were. Lance kept listening for the voice to return, wondering why the sudden silence in his mind made him feel impatient. Sven was quietly debating how to raise what they'd 'found' to the team, half expecting to hear another amused growl.</p><p>Darkness was falling as they reached the ship, grabbing some water and gathering on the bridge; if the <em>Xaela</em> had any kind of proper conference room, it was well-hidden. Hunk and Pidge came up from the engine bay, looking various shades of disgruntled. That also seemed like an odd sign—well, for Hunk anyway. Everyone seemed on edge.</p><p>Keith sighed as he sank into his command chair. Time to make some sense of things… or try to. "Okay. Anything to report?"</p><p>"We found an empty village to the south," Sven said immediately. And then, in precisely the same matter-of-fact tone, "Also, I might be schizophrenic."</p><p>Everyone swung around to gawk at him. "What?"</p><p>"Or just crazy. Not sure which."</p><p>Well <em>that</em> was easier than Lance had expected this to start out. Score one for Viking directness. "What makes you say that?"</p><p>"I'm hearing growling. And voices."</p><p>"Oh, does that make you crazy?" Hunk asked, frowning. "Cuz I might be crazy, too." Next to him, Pidge snorted; he shrugged. "Okay, crazier."</p><p>Lance stared between them. Sven they'd known, expected, intended to ask… Hunk? He hadn't even left the ship! "Well fuck," he murmured, then remembered he <em>probably</em> ought to mention his own voice. "That's me too."</p><p>"I heard a growl," Keith agreed quietly.</p><p>"Mine was definitely a voice."</p><p>Vince looked between them and shook his head slowly. Other than Sven, they'd always been crazy. He was somewhat relieved to hear Sven wasn't actually losing it, apparently—but it did also mean half the team was hearing things nobody else could hear. And if it wasn't insanity, it meant there were actually mysterious voices <em>out there</em> somewhere. <em>So happy it's not me</em>.</p><p>It didn't look like their navigator was all that thrilled to have company; his thoughts were tracking along similar lines to Vince. "I'm not sure if this is better or worse than just me being crazy."</p><p>"Explorer Team, bro." Hunk was going to cling to that as long as he could, because he really wasn't a fan of the alternatives.</p><p>"What did yours say?" Lance asked, leaning forward a little. He was much more interested in that; wasn't like any of them were qualified to make a psychiatric diagnosis here. Not even Jace had been, as he would've been loudly reminding them. "Was it helpful? Mine was not helpful."</p><p>"No." Sven rolled his eyes. "I got 'in time you will learn'." And there it was. The amused growl, just a hint of it, as if it had just been waiting to laugh at him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and it faded.</p><p>"Huh. I got something similar." A rush of warmth and… annoyance?… flooded through Lance and he startled slightly, trying to determine if the annoyance was <em>his</em>.</p><p>"Mine was, uh… not <em>not</em>-like that," Hunk said sullenly.</p><p>Keith shook his head. "What does it mean?"</p><p>"Means we're nuts, boss." Though he said it easily, Lance was starting to seriously doubt it was the case at all…</p><p>Pidge was still standing in the hatch from the engine bay, listening and growing more and more uncomfortable. His mind kept running back to what he'd felt earlier, the sense of something vaguely voice-like glancing off his barriers. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all… "Does this conversation concern those of us who aren't hearing voices?" he asked sharply. More sharply than he'd intended, even; Vince jumped, and he felt slightly guilty.</p><p>Frowning, Keith looked from Pidge to the others. The ninja might have a fair point. Operating on the margins they were, they needed to take any chance for a moment of rest; if half the team wasn't hearing voices, that half of the team could be doing something else with this time. "Unknown. But for now… unless any of you have heard other voices, you can try to get some rest. We'll catch you up afterwards."</p><p>A little too quickly, the ninja was gone. Vince shrugged and followed; he had enough weird in his life without going out of his way to hear more. Romelle left as well, still not feeling like it would quite be her place to stay even if she wanted to.</p><p>Daniel was the last to go, flipping a mock salute. "Enjoy the voices in your heads!" Keith snorted.</p><p>"Like they ain't crazy in their own way, but that's alright." Any laugh they could get from this was good with Hunk.</p><p>"Totally," Lance agreed. "What did your voice say, big guy?"</p><p>"It said 'the earth is patient'," he snorted, rolling his eyes. <em>And asked things you don't need to know about…</em> the growl almost immediately crackled in the back of his mind, and he fought down a scowl. <em>You shut up!</em> The growl scoffed in response—how the hell did a growl scoff? But it did, and it didn't improve his mood any.</p><p>"What is it with ominous voices telling us to be patient?" Sven asked, shaking his head.</p><p>Lance didn't look much more impressed. "What is that supposed to be? A riddle?" The big engineer shrugged. If he knew what it meant it would be slightly less annoying.</p><p>Slightly.</p><p>They were quiet for a few moments, just looking at each other. They had to talk about it, sure, but what could they really say? They didn't <em>know</em> anything, and the voices were being awfully uncooperative about changing that state of affairs.</p><p>Finally Sven decided he might as well get things restarted. He'd started them off, it was only fair. "I heard the growling again a minute or two ago. Though quieter than before."</p><p>"Yeah, I think I felt…" Lance blinked. It felt weird even by their standards, but it was the only way to describe it. "Warmth. Kind of… grumpy warmth." He wondered if the grumpiness had been because he'd called the voice unhelpful, or something else…</p><p>
  <em>"My sleep has been long."</em>
</p><p>His eyes widened. The voice felt distant, more than it had at the mountains, but it was unmistakable. It was there. And it had actually told him someth—no. No, he decided as he considered the words, it really hadn't. "Great, now I think I'm getting riddles too." Either a riddle or just a cryptic vaguery, neither of which helped them, but…</p><p>"Uh, so, I know this is super psych, yeah?" Lance's mention of warmth had jolted Hunk's memory to all the things he'd resolutely been trying to put aside. "But that relic we swiped? The one that uh, felt like earth?" The feeling, the symbol, the temple… <em>fuzzmuffins</em>.</p><p>"Yeah, why?" As all eyes turned to Hunk, Keith felt something too. A sense of being watched, and a low, purring chuckle that sent a shiver down his spine.</p><p>"Just… the earth is patient? Weird coincidence, yeah?"</p><p>It was not a coincidence. They all knew that. It wasn't <em>if</em> it meant something, but <em>what</em>, and what it meant for their mission…</p><p>"Yeah." Lance shook his head slowly. "Um, I keep feeling that same warmth I got from the metal. Only it's stronger, or maybe getting stronger."</p><p>It was Sven who finally put voice to what they were all pretty certain of. "So what we're saying is, it wouldn't be a large jump in logic to say that this has <em>something</em> to do with Voltron." The metal and the relic had both been connected and he, well… he'd never had any mysterious feelings from an unknown inanimate artifact, and it was making him feel the tiniest bit left out.</p><p>Which was in itself <em>very</em> <em>weird</em>, if he thought about it. He resolved not to think about it.</p><p>"At this point, we can't rule it out." Keith wasn't ready to say yes. He didn't know if it was prudent caution or outright denial. Either way, he sure as hell wasn't saying <em>no</em>.</p><p>"But speaking in our heads?"</p><p>"We still don't know what this thing is, 'cept for lions."</p><p>"The tech said the metal was magic."</p><p>"She did. But she didn't say <em>sentient</em>." The other thing they'd learned—sort of—from Turoa Tek popped into his mind. The metal had given the same readings… "And are we hearing the same voice, or different voices?"</p><p>They all paused a moment, looking around at each other, then Sven gave a slight shrug. "What do all yours sound like?"</p><p>"I'm still only hearing growling." Keith paused. "Well, a couple of minutes ago there was something more like a… purring laugh?"</p><p>Lance frowned. "Yeah I'm getting gruff, low… uh…" He looked at the commander. "Purrlike…"</p><p>"Kinda sounds like gravel in a cement mixer?" Hunk asked.</p><p>"No, more like fire—" Lance fell silent, blinking. "Huh…?" It had just come out, kind of instinctively. But he felt the warmth intensify, and realized it was true. The gruffness of the voice was like the crackle of flame in his mind, and the warmth was comforting like a cheerful fire on the coldest day…</p><p>Hunk looked at him, deadpan. "So mine's rocks and yours is fire. That ain't killin' this theory at all. Viking?"</p><p>"Mine doesn't sound gruff or gravelly." Nor did it give him the sense of flame or earth. If anything the cadences felt calm, like the gently flowing waters of the fjords back home. "It's more…" <em>Elegant?</em> It was the first word that came to his lips, but it didn't feel like it offered much in the way of useful information. "Soft." That wasn't a lot better.</p><p>"Soft," Lance repeated, considering it. The voice he was hearing was also <em>soft</em>, but he didn't think Sven had meant it in terms of volume. "Does it purr? …The fucking things I am <em>saying</em>."</p><p>"No kiddin'," Hunk snorted.</p><p>Sven thought back to the growling. Amusement yes, but… "No, she didn't really purr."</p><p>"…She?"</p><p>"SHE?"</p><p>Oh. He blinked. It had felt right somehow, natural. And the soft growl had not objected, which it felt like it—she?—would have if he was wrong. "I think so, yes."</p><p>"Alright." Lance shrugged. He was over pointing out with every fucking sentence how insane this was. It was what they had and it wasn't going to help anything <em>not</em> to roll with it. "I definitely have a man, er… male… I don't know what word to use for a <em>possibly sentient robot lion</em> but…" He felt a low chuckle in his mind and decided that must be an agreement.</p><p>Nothing about the rough, rocky voice in Hunk's mind screamed female. "I think mine's a dude…" And it was definitely laughing at him, right on cue.</p><p>"I'd guess with as dark and deep as mine sounds when it laughs, male also…" Keith scoffed slightly as he realized what he'd just said. <em>Why am I calling it mine?</em> "I can't tell for certain."</p><p>The genders of what were looking more and more like <em>sentient robot lions inside their heads</em> did not matter much, in themselves, Lance decided. He shook his head slowly. "So we've got warmth, soft, gravel, and… dark? Okay."</p><p>"Sounding like different voices."</p><p>Again they all fell silent. Finally, Hunk exhaled slowly. "Anyone else startin' to think we shouldn't have come here after all?" This was too much. It was too far out of his comfort zone—either Big Dumb Hunk's comfort zone or his <em>actual</em> comfort zone…</p><p>
  <em>"You hide too close to the surface."</em>
</p><p>Scowling, he did all he could to just push the words aside. He didn't want to hear it.</p><p>Nobody else was with him, though. "I'm still undecided," Sven said, vaguely irritated by that in itself. He'd been undecided since they first decided to come here, trying to go with the flow of things, and he would appreciate actually <em>knowing</em> something sooner or later. Though the voice and the growling felt right, somehow—like something he'd been waiting for.</p><p>"We should be here." Lance was certain of that. <em>Fuck me if I know why, though.</em></p><p>
  <em>"Fuck you…?"</em>
</p><p>His eyes widened. Oh no. No, he was <em>not</em> explaining that to a mysterious disembodied voice in his brain. "I'd get used to hearing that," he muttered under his breath, and the voice seemed to accept it for now.</p><p>"I wouldn't mind some answers." Keith was feeling very Sven-like on the subject. Fitting, he supposed; it was always good to agree with one's second. "All we keep getting are more questions." This entire mission had been like that, but now it was that much more <em>immediate</em>. What he knew was that they wouldn't come up with any answers if they just left.</p><p>They were close, so close. Weren't they? They had to be, surely…</p><p>"So uh," Lance was shaking his head again—or maybe still. "We think the talking voices in our heads are Voltron for sure, right?"</p><p>"Anyone tried askin' em?" Hunk suggested with a shrug. His voice seemed to have plenty of opinions on <em>him</em>, it could answer a few questions… but when he tried to direct the question all he got was a low growl. "Mine suddenly got way less chatty."</p><p>Lance tried the same, and had better results. Sort of. He heard, <em>felt</em>, the voice brighten. <em>"Ah! Voltron…"</em></p><p>
  <em>What about Voltron?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It is far too soon."</em>
</p><p>"He perked up about Voltron then told me it's too soon," he relayed as the others noted his expression. "What the <em>fuck</em>."</p><p>"I asked mine who she was earlier, that's when I got the 'be patient' answer, but…" Sven closed his eyes. He didn't really think he <em>needed</em> to close his eyes, but it felt like he may as well. <em>Are you Voltron?</em> There were no words in response, just a soft growl. It felt reassuring somehow… he let himself accept the reassurance, even if it wasn't quite an answer.</p><p>Keith got nothing but another low, purring chuckle. It was really hard not to read the lack of denial as confirmation, though. If the voices <em>weren't</em> Voltron, what the hell <em>else</em> had they wandered into on this seemingly dead planet? It just seemed unlikely. "We should proceed under the assumption that it is."</p><p>Hunk sighed. "I don't like this at <em>all</em>, my dudes."</p><p>"I…" Lance didn't <em>not-like</em> it. But he could sympathize with Hunk, too. "We definitely weren't fucking trained for this shit."</p><p>"I don't think it's a bad thing," Sven murmured, almost more to himself than the group.</p><p>Keith looked around and grimaced. He was chewing on his lower lip to try to keep himself from pacing, and wondered if it was worth the effort. Pacing hurt less. "I don't know that I like it, either. But let's look at it as a positive. We came here to find Voltron…" Frowning, he looked at the door from the bridge. "Why us, though?"</p><p>"Why not us?" Lance asked, following his gaze. "It's been us all this fucking time, the unit, the temple, those fucking trap pits…"</p><p>"That's a great reason for it <em>not</em> to be us," Hunk countered. "We've been through plenty." But he was seeing the yellow part of the temple again, the symbol on the relic…</p><p><em>"It can only be you,"</em> the warm voice murmured in Lance's mind, and he frowned. He couldn't tell if it was talking to him specifically, or about the group as a whole. Either way… it felt safe. The warmth had been there this whole time, calling to him. Waiting for him?</p><p>It sounded insane, of course. But saying things sounded insane hardly even had meaning anymore.</p><p>Nobody had answered Hunk and he looked around, almost pleading for backup. "We're s'posed to grab this thing and take it home and hand it over and go back to nice normal missions, right?" A scornful growl rumbled through him and he narrowed his eyes. "Right?!"</p><p>"That was the mission." Keith heard the dark growl again, and this time it definitely wasn't laughing.</p><p>"I don't think it's that simple anymore," Sven agreed, a hint of anger creeping into the growl in his own mind.</p><p>"It's not like we can grab disembodied voices," Lance pointed out. "And I don't think they mean us harm…"</p><p><em>"Your instinct is strong." </em>The warmth pulsed softly through him, and he shivered a little.</p><p>Hunk just stared around at the others, trying not to explode. It wasn't harm he was worried about, exactly. He was <em>not</em> supposed to be the person on this team who wasn't okay with being crazy! It was practically his damn <em>trademark</em>, but here they were—and it felt like he was supposed to be the one most excited by this, the quickest to embrace the absurdity. Maybe he would've been, if his voice were just a little less…</p><p>
  <em>"What are you hiding?"</em>
</p><p>…like THAT.</p><p>"I don't think it's that simple either," Keith finally acknowledged. "And I don't know what to think about that."</p><p>"We'll figure it out." Lance said it to the group, but was looking at Hunk, who sighed in frustration.</p><p>"So we're hearin' voices in our heads that might be ancient robot lion superweapons." He didn't sound exactly <em>defeated</em>, but definitely resigned. "And we're stickin' around for it cuz reasons. That's the deal?"</p><p>"I think we have to."</p><p>"That is the deal," Sven confirmed, nodding.</p><p>"I think so, Hunk. At least unless something else changes." Their commander swept his gaze over the group. "We have a duty to fulfill. And the one thing we can be certain <em>won't</em> help us fulfill that duty is running away. We'll do the best we can, same as we always do…"</p><p>Hunk nodded slowly, then decided to take a shot. Couldn't hurt anything at this point, probably. Focusing on the gravelly voice he asked, <em>don't suppose you'll tell us where you are?</em> He didn't even get a growl in response—not even the courtesy of being laughed at. He snorted in annoyance.</p><p>Misreading his snort, Lance took a steadying breath. "We have to do this, Hunk. For… for…"</p><p>"For them," Keith agreed softly.</p><p>The big engineer hesitated. And something washed over him—a flash of annoyance that <em>they</em> would be invoked like they wouldn't be—</p><p>"—Okay fine, but Jace would be yellin' for us to fuck on outta here in so many words, yeah? He's not here to call it a bad idea, someone oughta."</p><p>Immediately he froze, half expecting Sven to punch him. Which he might actually deserve. But Sven just looked at him. Everyone was just looking at him…</p><p>
  <em>"Your mask shifts. They see it. You will see…"</em>
</p><p>"…Flynn would want to stay," Lance whispered. He had no doubt about that. Flynn would love this, he'd… no. He tried to shove the thoughts away and the soft growl filled him.</p><p>
  <em>"So much grief…"</em>
</p><p><em>No.</em> He wasn't thinking about it.</p><p>"Flynn would," Keith agreed, smiling sadly. "And Cam… Cam would…" Cam would back whatever Keith wanted to do, and he bowed his head sadly. But he'd refused to back down in the end, as well, when everything had gone wrong. "He'd want to see this through."</p><p>"Jace would be screaming," Sven agreed with an affectionate smile. "But he'd also be very proud of me for rebelling in any fashion, and admitting that our mission might be… <em>changing</em> would certainly count."</p><p>"…And it's not like he'd be expectin' us to <em>actually</em> bail," Hunk admitted. He'd been right there beside them for everything, surly and angry and completely reliable. Images of the temple flashed through his mind again, their medic looking over the green section next to his, and…</p><p>
  <em>Wait…</em>
</p><p>He looked around and counted just to be absolutely certain, though he'd been certain already. It wasn't exactly all that high to count. <em>This is only four voices for five lions…</em></p><p>No, he did not want to bring that up right now.</p><p>"Jace would never bail," Lance snorted, voicing his earlier thoughts. "He'd just bitch about it."</p><p>"True that."</p><p>Sven chuckled and the soft growl flooded through him again. It was a good feeling, cool and comforting, and he didn't fight it.</p><p>"So… what do we do now? I asked mine where he is and he totally ghosted until it was time to get all cryptic and annoying again."</p><p>"Mine would just say it's not time yet, or something close, if I ask that."</p><p>"Well, there's not much else we can do tonight." Keith rubbed his forehead and wondered what time it even was. All he knew was it had already been getting dark when they returned to the ship.</p><p>Sven couldn't help a sardonic chuckle. "Be patient?"</p><p>"The earth is patient." Hunk snorted. "They better be, when's the last time we made a report?"</p><p>That sent a wave of mixed winces and chuckles through the others. "Hawkins must be knocking heads."</p><p>"Especially if they got our panic squawk."</p><p>"Oh, you know it."</p><p>"He and…" Sven's laugh abruptly cut off. "Fuck. My mother…"</p><p>Keith eyed him. "You keep using that word, maybe you really have lost it."</p><p>The navigator shrugged, just the slightest bit defensively. He didn't need to explain himself—he'd lost <em>something</em>. If succumbing to a little corruption was how he chose to honor that, he didn't owe anyone an explanation. They'd figure it out.</p><p>"She'll knock heads with Hawkins?" Lance asked with a small grin. He had a suspicion about why Sven was swearing these days; the thought of his mom rampaging through the Garrison was a much more fun subject.</p><p>"She'll knock everyone's heads. I didn't get my violent streak from my father."</p><p>"Oh no." Hunk snickered. He'd definitely rather think about Sven's family than his own—would they have been notified that the team was out of contact? Hopefully not yet. They were used to not hearing much from him on a deployment. He'd just keep hoping.</p><p>"Viking Mom!" Lance grinned. "Of course she fucking will."</p><p>Keith shook his head. Even he was amused at that thought. "Surely we'll find a way to get a message back… eventually."</p><p>"Have to find civilization first. Or where the lions are." Lance didn't specifically ask, but he <em>hoped</em> for an answer. All he received was a low purr.</p><p>"We did find that village," Sven reminded them. "Hopefully that leads to something."</p><p>"Hopefully. A lead or even a person."</p><p>"Yeah. I think we'll try looking at that village tomorrow."</p><p>"Sounds like a plan." Hunk stretched, wincing; he'd been standing in one spot for a really long time. "Anyone for dinner?" Cooking would make him feel better. It would definitely be stress cooking.</p><p>"I could eat."</p><p>"Yeah, same."</p><p>"Sounds good."</p><p>Leaving the bridge, they took the elevator to the upper deck, and Hunk led them forward into the common room. "Yo! Team No Voices, time for—" He fell silent as he realized he wasn't yelling to anyone. "—Huh. Guess they're all asleep already."</p><p>Somehow, Lance did not think that would prove to be the case. At <em>all</em>. He walked over to the room he shared with Daniel, opened the door, and was wholly unsurprised to find it empty. "Oh, fuck. Daniel."</p><p>Sven frowned and went to the other bunkroom, the one he shared with Keith and Pidge. There was no ninja. He didn't even say anything, just sighed in resignation. He was not surprised, either.</p><p>Nor was Keith, who sighed as well. "They didn't." He said it with no conviction.</p><p>"Oh he did." Lance knocked on the doors to Romelle and Vince's staterooms, expecting no answer and receiving exactly what he expected. "And he dragged them with him."</p><p>The four of them just stood there, looking at each other, wondering why <em>exactly</em> they hadn't seen this coming to begin with. Of <em>course</em> the others had…</p><p>"…Guess they can make their own dinner?" Hunk shrugged.</p><p>Lance snorted. "We going after them, or…?"</p><p>"I'm sure they'll be fine. They're all capable, Daniel seems to operate at his best when he's doing something he's not supposed to do, it's dark and Pidge is with them…" Sven crossed his arms. "And I'm hungry."</p><p>Keith snorted too, but nodded his agreement with his second's assessment. They had to trust their teammates, even when their teammates pulled things like <em>this</em>. "They can take care of themselves, and it's not as if they're undermanned compared to our previous scouting. It'll be alright."</p><p>It was almost comforting, really. After the discussion they'd just had, it was nice to know they still had good old-fashioned Explorer Team crazy to worry about too.</p><p>*****</p><p>"Larmina… Can I have a moment with you? Alone?"</p><p>Larmina gave her aunt a slightly irritated look. She didn't want to give her a moment; she wanted to be out helping Coran hunt down the alien ship. But she'd volunteered for—insisted on—remaining in the castle before, so here she was. She'd hoped there would actually be something useful to do here, but so far, not so much. Just being held out of things, again.</p><p>So she acquiesced, joining her aunt in a small room deep within the ruined part of the castle. If she wanted to convince her to let her join a scout team, she'd have to humor her as much as possible.</p><p>When Allura was sure they were alone, she took a steadying breath. "Since you are in the know about the Lions now, I thought it would only be fair to share what little history I know about why—"</p><p>Larmina interrupted, because this was exactly what she hadn't wanted to hear about. She didn't care about excuses. "I don’t see the point of—"</p><p>"—I think you might, or at least, you could see part of my problem if you'll let me explain."</p><p><em>Humor her and maybe you can do something useful.</em> "Fine."</p><p>There was a small mural in the room, one that couldn't be pried from the wall. Lions. Allura walked up to it, looking at it, running her fingers reverently over the smooth enamel. "It was decided many generations ago that all information about the Great Lions would be held by the High King or Queen. Their power was great, too great to be entrusted to any other. Supposedly some other family members knew once, but over time most if not all forgot about the secret. Even within the House of Raimon, they became mostly a curiosity."</p><p>"Right." Larmina wanted to ask about the war, about the other legends, but decided to let it go for now. "Ancient forgotten weapons, got it."</p><p>"It was my great grandfather who started to reclaim information about them. He believed there might be a need for the lions to be awakened someday. What he found was that nearly everything had been lost. And many discouraged his search, saying they were only fairy tales. That the Crown couldn't be seen pursuing such nonsense. He kept searching, but quietly. Were it not for his efforts, and my father's continuation of them… all knowledge of the lions could have been lost entirely."</p><p>"But why not tell people now? You could have more people looking for what you need."</p><p>"Think about it, Larmina. Would you tell the people that the Great Lions of legends are real, not fairy tales… but they are asleep, and you have next to no way to wake them? Would you give them that hope and crush it at the same time?"</p><p>Her niece frowned. She'd spent enough time in the castle workshop to feel like this should be easy. "So at least bring Danor and the royal engineers in on it! They're just machines."</p><p>"They are not!" Allura said sternly, almost personally insulted by her tone. Her father hadn't searched and died without considering something so simple. "It might be hard to see from the glimpse you got, but they are much more than that. You just can’t push a button on them and have them spring to life. We've tried. It takes something more, and until I know how they fully wake… can't you see how it would be cruel to give empty hope?"</p><p>Larmina sighed; she supposed she could understand that. If the lions couldn’t wake up, it could undo so much of the morale Allura had managed to keep alive in the shelters. And if just kicking them in the right place wouldn't do the trick, she guessed working in the dark was what they had. Though she wondered how exactly Auntie knew that these new arrivals they hadn't even found were important… secret lion stuff? Sure, why not. Secret lion stuff.</p><p>There was a giant metal cat in a cave in the mountains, secret lion stuff was obviously an <em>actual thing</em>. Aside from the annoyance, wrapping her head around that was still taking a little work.</p><p>"Okay, Auntie." She sighed again and nodded. Much as she still felt like sulking, she'd resolved to be useful, too. "Just… keep me in the loop, okay? Whatever you learn about the lions from now on, I want to know too."</p><p>Allura nodded. "I promise." It would be so good to have someone else she could talk to about such things, especially if they were really as close as she thought…</p><p>"Great." Larmina looked at the mural and stood. "Now let’s go find whoever it is that's going to help you with waking sleeping kittens."</p><p>It got her a small, affectionate chuckle. "Coran will find them. We have to wait here. Just in case."</p><p>"Auntieeee…"</p><p>"I know." Allura pulled out one of the notebooks she kept with her. "Would it make you feel better if I told you some of the tales my father found, in the meantime?"</p><p>Larmina considered that, then nodded and sat back down. It was better than nothing.</p><p>*****</p><p>It had taken Daniel roughly five seconds after leaving the bridge to start rallying Team No Voices to his cause.</p><p>"Hey ninja! You can go out in the dark, right?"</p><p>Pidge blinked. "Yes…?"</p><p>"Awesome." Their gunner turned to Vince. "You remember where that village is, right?"</p><p>Vince had been considering actually going to bed, and even kind of looking forward to it after how much walking they'd done. Now he turned to Daniel, knowing exactly where this was going. "Oh no. <em>Nope."</em></p><p>Nobody really thought that meant he didn't remember where the village was. Though Pidge did think that perhaps—just perhaps—Daniel might have left out a key element of his <em>first</em> question.</p><p>"Come on. While they're figuring out if they're really bonkers or not, we should do something <em>productive</em>."</p><p>"It isn't really that hard to find," Romelle said with a slight blush. Vince gave her a betrayed look; Daniel grinned.</p><p>"Perfect!" He turned back to Pidge. He actually had intended to <em>ask</em> the ninja—he had a healthy respect for his stab-happy-ness. But there wouldn't be much point in extending an invitation if they couldn't follow it up. "Wanna get off this ship and explore a village?"</p><p>"That's a bad plan," Vince objected.</p><p>"It's a terrible idea," Pidge agreed, then shrugged. He was sick of being on this ship. "I'm in." Vince gave him a betrayed look too, and sighed.</p><p>"My terrible plans tend to work."</p><p>"By <em>sheer luck</em>, if I recall them all correctly."</p><p>Daniel waved that off dismissively. "Is it really luck if it happens over and over? No. That's talent. Let's go."</p><p>Romelle blinked as they headed for the nearest hatch. It felt like they'd missed a step. "Shouldn't we tell the others where we're going?" Immediately the gunner whipped around on her.</p><p>"Romelle, has anyone ever explained to you the concept of tattle-taling?" All it got him was a confused look.</p><p>"Tailing?" Pidge echoed, looking almost equally confused. "We haven't even seen anyone to tail yet."</p><p>"He means snitching," Vince muttered.</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>That didn't help Romelle one bit. "Snitching?"</p><p>"Telling the others would be considered snitching," Daniel explained. "It's something that's very frowned upon in Earth culture. Huge no-no."</p><p>That still didn't actually explain anything. "But if we run into trouble?"</p><p>"That's why this is a bad idea," Vince muttered; Daniel just shrugged.</p><p>"We have a ninja."</p><p>"…Well, point."</p><p>Pidge wasn't wholly convinced either, though. "I think what you're calling 'snitching' is actually 'proper notification of command', which is <em>not</em> frowned upon…"</p><p>"Pidge, do you want to leave the ship or not?"</p><p>"I didn't say I won't come with you."</p><p>"I still don't even understand what snitching <em>is</em>," Romelle muttered.</p><p>The ninja looked at her and offered helpfully, "Snitching is asking for permission when you expect the answer to be no." Vince opened his mouth and shut it again; no way was he going to try to correct that. Explaining nuance to Pidge was a lost cause, and poor Romelle didn't need this nonsense.</p><p>"Well the answer <em>will</em> be no. And then we won't go. Which means in this instance, proper notification of command is very frowned upon."</p><p>Their resident Baltan saw no flaws in that logic, and just shrugged again in acceptance.</p><p>Shrugging and accepting it usually seemed like the best course of action for this team, so Romelle did the same. "Well, you'll need me to go with you. In case we find anyone who doesn't speak Common." Her Arusian was better than her Common, truthfully; Polluxian still bore a strong resemblance to its parent language. And she had no way of knowing if the Alliance had ever even made contact with Arus.</p><p>"Oh, yes," Vince grumbled. "Running into someone in the dark deserted village would just be brilliant."</p><p>"No more pessimism out of you!" Daniel scolded, checking his gun. "You guys ready to go, or do you need to grab stuff?"</p><p>Romelle and Vince still had their own weapons with them, and Pidge had his usual knife. "If we run into Drules, do we kill or capture?"</p><p>"Situational," Daniel answered in his best imitation of Keith. "Use your best judgment."</p><p>With that, they were gone, slipping out a cargo hatch into the darkness. It was spooky, even more than the fog had been; it was actually a bit louder than during the day. Some kind of nighttime insect was chirping through the foothills and echoing off the mountains, a haunting sound.</p><p>Nobody was too upset to leave it behind as they crossed the bridge. It was an uneventful walk, but peaceful, the lake water beside them shining in the light of two moons. Or it was peaceful until the half-ruined buildings appeared on the horizon, looking almost like shadowy monsters lying in wait.</p><p>Not even theoretical monsters held much particular fear for the team anymore, and Vince's tone was completely deadpan when he spoke. "Yay. Behold a creepy village."</p><p>"It is spooky," Romelle agreed softly, shivering. It had been ominous in the daylight, and now it was worse.</p><p>"It is kind of spooky," Daniel admitted. He'd been planning to suggest they split up once they arrived, but now he was rethinking that. No, he'd rethought it. Not happening.</p><p>Pidge didn't see anything particularly spooky about it, but he was used to dark and empty settlements. The moonlight here was about as bright as Balto ever got, and most industrial districts were fully automated, leaving them deserted under normal circumstances. What was unusual about the village was how… small and rustic it seemed. Quaint? He thought the word humans liked for these things was quaint.</p><p>And how damaged. As he moved forward, he could see chunks torn from some walls, scorch marks on stone pathways. The others followed him into the ruins; following the ninja always seemed like the wisest course in a situation like this. There was no sign of any other movement, except…</p><p>Something flickered just at the corner of Vince's vision, something pale and bright glinting in the darkness. But when he turned to get a better look, nothing was there. He shrugged it off; probably a trick of the moonlight.</p><p>"Aren't we near to the castle?" Pidge whispered as the wind whistled between the buildings. "This is an obvious point to occupy to secure the meadow, but it's so quiet. No patrols evident."</p><p>"Yeah, I guess that is weird…" Vince looked over his shoulder. No patrols evident. He was pretty sure what he'd seen, if he'd even seen it, wasn't a sign of a patrol.</p><p>Romelle saw a flicker inside one of the buildings, a relatively undamaged house with an open door. She approached and poked her head in. "Hello?" It got her an annoyed look from the ninja, but even she was accustomed to ignoring those by now. Nothing greeted her, though… in fact the house seemed scoured of everything. Cupboards hung open, drawers were pulled out, even the cushions had been taken from a large couch in what looked like the living room.</p><p>"Who are you saying hello to?" Daniel whispered, walking over to join her. Whispering felt like the only safe way to talk here. Seeing the village as it was—ransacked and lifeless—was making his chest tighten up. It was too creepy and sad to be cool, and it was sucking all the fun out of misbehaving.</p><p>"Thought I saw something, that's all." She stepped back, shaking her head.</p><p>Vince spun around, certain he'd seen something else too. Nothing. "Urgh." Between sparks and visions and everyone else hearing voices, maybe he was just <em>too</em> certain something terrifying was lurking around every corner. "Really <em>not</em> liking this feeling that we're in a horror movie."</p><p>Daniel snorted. He felt like he'd said something similar recently.</p><p>As they moved deeper into the village, Pidge crouched and sprang up onto a rooftop; their gunner watched him and shook his head slightly. "He's like a frog."</p><p>"A frog?" Vince echoed, eyeing him.</p><p>"The way he just jumped up onto the roof like that? Totally froglike."</p><p>"I guess." Another flicker of motion caught his eye, and again it wasn't actually there when he turned. Maybe the wind was blowing things around; it was low and constant, though he wasn't too sure what it might be catching. This place looked pretty well scavenged.</p><p>"He is impressive," Romelle acknowledged, watching Pidge disappear from view. He kept low to the roof, crawling to the edges and studying the streets. Still there was nothing but silent darkness.</p><p>Shaking his head, he stood carefully and vaulted up to the top of the chimney. He could see a lot of the village here—the ground was flat, and very few of the buildings were more than two stories high. There was no sign of motion.</p><p>The wind ruffled his hair, and he heard a low growl. He found his eyes drawn to the west. There was a forest—or had been at one point, anyway. He could see the trees, but also a scorched swath of earth. Burnt stumps and broken metal hulks littered the darkness. But it was the trees themselves that drew his attention.</p><p>The growl…</p><p>It wasn't the faint sound he'd been able to shove aside on the ship. It was strong and clear, seeming to be carried on the winds. His psychic barriers seemed to do nothing.</p><p>"I don't see anything," he informed the others as he jumped back to the ground. "Or hear anything, except the animals." Yes. Animals. Nighttime wildlife. They were near a forest. He refused to entertain the possibility of anything else.</p><p>Vince was on edge, watching for more flickers, and tried to spin in the next one more quickly. It didn't help, and he groaned. "I'm either joining in the craziness back on the ship, or I'm seeing things… wait, that's the same thing."</p><p>"Well," Daniel offered, "they were hearing things, not seeing them."</p><p>"Comforting."</p><p>After a few moments, they moved on. Even if the village was empty, they might be able to find some information.</p><p>It wouldn't take long.</p><p>Passing by a small house, Romelle caught a familiar scent. Before she could place it, she turned to look down the alley, and brought her hands to her mouth with a gasp.</p><p>The others sprang into action immediately; Pidge came up next to her with his knife drawn, covering her as she dropped back. Vince did <em>not</em> want to know what had caused that reaction, but dropped a hand to his gun and readied himself nonetheless. Daniel had his halfway drawn as he approached to have a look, but stopped as he came into view of the alleyway. It wasn't a threat…</p><p>"Eww." He was very glad it was dark. "Bodies."</p><p>"Arusians?" Vince asked sadly, but the gunner shook his head.</p><p>"Nope. Finally found some Drules."</p><p>"Komora…?"</p><p>The bodies were stacked three high, scattered with something powdery silver that glittered in the moonlight. Romelle recognized it as sancah, an herb that promoted decomposition while keeping wild beasts and scavengers at bay. It was the sancah she'd smelled, an overly flowery scent that partially masked the smell of decay.</p><p>Sancah was not something the Drules used. It was native to Arus—and here, apparently, employed to grant even their enemies the small courtesy of some dignity in death.</p><p>"Sorry," she whispered as the others relaxed. "It just startled me."</p><p>Vince saw no reason for her to apologize for a <em>pile of dead bodies</em> startling her. "What killed them?"</p><p>"How are we supposed to know that?" Daniel asked with a scowl.</p><p>"Question seems pertinent, that's all."</p><p>"…Fair." Even not being able to see them, Daniel was still very much over looking at dead Drule bodies. And the sweet smell that filled the alley was cloying, turning his stomach. "Ugh, this is disgusting." Covering his nose, he turned and walked away.</p><p>"The Arusians probably killed them," Romelle said softly. Even without the sancah, it seemed like the most logical answer. "I know they resisted for a long time."</p><p>"When did you say this planet was attacked?" Pidge asked quietly. The bodies didn't look like they'd been there for—</p><p>"—Months ago. I was sent to Korrinoth shortly afterwards."</p><p>He looked back at the bodies, nodding slowly. Something more was going on here. Something they weren't even imagining as a possibility…</p><p>Vince screamed.</p><p>"What?!" Daniel had his gun out again, and Pidge sprang forward to lunge at… nothing. There was nothing there. But Vince had raised his arm and was pointing at the nothing with a shaky hand.</p><p>"Nope. Nope." He was staring at a person. Except it wasn't really a person. It was an old man who seemed to be shaped from the moonlight, watching him with an expression of idle curiosity, and the buildings behind him were faintly visible through his body. "Nope, nope, NOPE." He shook his head furiously and stepped back, and the old man vanished.</p><p>"Vince? What do you see?"</p><p>"Dude, what is it?"</p><p>He just shook his head with a faint squeak, and Pidge crossed his arms. "Well," he said dryly, "if there <em>is</em> anyone in this village, or otherwise within earshot, we're about to find out. Good thinking, mechka."</p><p>Vince shot him a mildly resentful look. "There was a… a see-through person!" <em>There is a word for that, Vince</em>.</p><p>"A see-through person," Daniel echoed. "A ghost?"</p><p><em>That'd be it.</em> "Ghosts aren't real!"</p><p>"They are," Romelle said softly. "My mother could see them. It runs in Pollux's royal family, though I've never had cause to…"</p><p>"They can't be real. That couldn't be real." On some instinct, he stepped forward again, to exactly where he'd been standing before. The ghostly old man immediately faded back into view. "…It's right there," he whispered.</p><p>Daniel looked between Vince and Romelle. One of them was taking this way too in stride, and the other was way too certain it was a thing. "Ghosts are real?!" he repeated, shaking his head vigorously. "Oh no. No. Nope. I'm out."</p><p>Vince whirled on him. <em>"You're</em> out?" he demanded, adrenaline spiking his voice into an outright yell.</p><p>"I'm out!"</p><p>"I'm the one <em>seeing</em> it! I want out!"</p><p>Pidge wanted out too—he wanted about as much to do with ghosts as he wanted to do with voices—and since they seemed quite busy yelling at each other, he took the opportunity to turn and walk away.</p><p>As their ninja removed himself, Romelle stepped forward, standing right next to Vince. She could just see the flickering outline of the ghost, which turned to face her with the same expression of vague interest. "Hello?" she whispered in Arusian.</p><p>"You see it too?" Vince asked, not sure whether to be relieved or freaked out more. Either way, she nodded, and he decided to just step back and let her deal with it. "I did <em>not</em> ask to see dead people." <em>Sparks, visions, now dead people, what the </em>hell <em>is with my life?</em></p><p>"Can you speak?" Romelle asked the ghost as Vince stepped back. He just frowned at her slightly; she wondered if he could even hear her. Or if perhaps he knew a Polluxian when he saw one, and simply had nothing to say.</p><p>Though he couldn't understand what she was saying, Daniel was pretty sure he got the gist of what was going on. <em>Me and Pidge are the only normal ones here, sheesh.</em> "Is she talking to dead people? Should we really be talking to dead people?" It felt like the question had come out too casually. <em>Why am I not questioning this more?</em></p><p>"If she wants to talk to the ghost like it's not a big deal, I'm not gonna stop her." <em>Better her than me.</em></p><p>"I'm pretty sure communicating with spirits is where people in horror films start to go wrong…"</p><p>As they debated the wisdom of talking to the ghost, very little talking to the ghost was actually getting done. Romelle tried to coax it with a couple more greetings, but eventually the old man turned and faded away. "He's gone…"</p><p>"Do you think there are more?"</p><p>"I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. Just be aware of them…"</p><p>Be aware of them. That was literally exactly what he <em>didn't</em> want to do. "I'd really rather go back to my ignorant bliss of not knowing ghosts exist at all."</p><p>"Me too," Daniel agreed, looking around. He'd been meaning to ask Pidge for agreement, but there was a small problem with that idea. "Where'd ninja go?"</p><p>Vince rubbed his forehead. "Great."</p><p>"I was scouting the area." The voice came from inches behind him, and he jumped with another scream. "Still nothing."</p><p>"Would you not?!" Vince demanded, whirling on their characteristically unrepentant ninja.</p><p>"Shit, ninja!" Daniel agreed. "We already got ghosts!"</p><p>"We are in an abandoned village on a hostile planet." Pidge crossed his arms. "You failing to maintain situational awareness isn't a <em>me</em> problem." Vince glared at him, but he heard a laugh—soft and almost bell-like as it rang through him. "What was funny about that?"</p><p>Maybe fortunately for him, Vince was too busy being annoyed to catch that question; he turned and his gaze landed on Daniel. "We done having fun yet?"</p><p>This had stopped being fun the moment they'd arrived, but Daniel bristled with indignation anyway. "Don't blame me for you seeing ghosts!"</p><p>"I wouldn't know about it if you hadn't dragged us out here!"</p><p>"You might not know right now, but you would have sooner or later! It's not like we weren't gonna come here eventually, and it's definitely not like we're leaving any time soon." Daniel paused. "And I didn't drag you, I <em>encouraged."</em></p><p>"I did not need to start seeing dead people any sooner than necessary, I have <em>enough</em> weirdness in my life." Vince matched his indignant look. "And I <em>only</em> came because we have to stick together."</p><p>"Who said that? I had ninja and runaway princess," <em>really have to come up with a better nickname for her</em>, "you didn't have to come."</p><p>"Like I was gonna leave her alone with you and Pidge!"</p><p>Pidge blinked. "Wait, what did I do?" <em>Is this about the knife again?</em> He'd gotten so much better about that.</p><p>"You take off and then pop up out of nowhere."</p><p>…<em>Oh</em>. "True."</p><p>"Well that's very nice of you," Daniel scoffed, "but that was your choice! Don't go blaming me for your choices." He did plenty of stuff he actually deserved to be blamed for, he didn't need extra.</p><p>While they bickered, Romelle had followed a soft flicker into a small, single-room hut. This one was completely cleaned out as well, down to the mattress on the bed. The moonlight spilling in the door was just enough for her to see a few dark stains in the floor… on some instinct, she knelt and touched one.</p><p>A ghostly woman appeared, and she gasped softly. "Hello?"</p><p>"Caution," the ghost whispered in a voice that flowed through her like a frigid stream. She swallowed hard and forged on; they still needed information.</p><p>"What happened here?"</p><p>"Drules attacked. Died there." The ghost gestured to the dark stains. Blood? "Knights returned… fought back. Drove away… Drules… gone."</p><p>Romelle's eyes widened. "The Drules are gone?" The ghost nodded, beginning to fade, as if exhausted from the exertion. "I… thank you." Pulling her jacket tighter, she watched the ghost vanish fully, then returned to the others.</p><p>They were still arguing. "Look, I'm blaming you for the ghosts and I don't care how irrational it is."</p><p>"It is fairly illogical, mechka."</p><p>"I know!"</p><p>"Fine!" Daniel groaned. "If you need to blame me for the ghosts do it, I'll live…" That hadn't been the best word choice, and he winced. "Uh, sorry, ghosties."</p><p>Vince snorted, then caught sight of Romelle, on the tail end of her conversation. "Fuzzmuffins, she's found another one."</p><p>"Wonderful."</p><p>It wasn't all bad. As she returned to them she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a bit. The village still gave her an eerie feeling, but… "We should be relatively safe. The Arusians fought the Drules and drove them away from here. They're gone."</p><p>All three of the others gawked at her. "They <em>what?"</em></p><p>"They fought off the Drules?"</p><p>"Wow…"</p><p>"That's what I was told."</p><p>"Wow."</p><p>"Good for them!"</p><p>Pidge looked around again. It made sense. Everything suddenly made sense… well, okay. The status of the village and the environs made more sense. Everything else, still an issue. "From the village? Or…" He looked to the sky.</p><p>The soft winds seemed to wrap around him for a moment, and he heard it. A voice. Unmistakably and undeniably a voice, sharp and fierce with a chiming lilt to it. It was so far away he could hardly hear it, so immediate he couldn't block it out in time.</p><p>
  <em>"It is only beginning…"</em>
</p><p>No. He glanced back in the direction of the forest and forced it aside, locking his mind down with every slim fragment of psionic ability he possessed.</p><p>Mercifully, Romelle answered his question quickly, shaking her head. "I don't know that. Only that they fought and drove them away."</p><p>"Not an easy thing to do," Vince murmured, "even if it is only the village." The others nodded in agreement.</p><p>Then Daniel realized the problem. They'd had success in their scouting mission. They'd acquired actual important information. Which meant… "We should probably start heading back." He sighed heavily. "We're gonna have to snitch on ourselves."</p><p>…Oh. Yes. Yes they were. Vince nodded, and a pang of guilt ran through him. He really hadn't put up much of a fight about coming here. "Uh, sorry about all that, Daniel."</p><p>"'Bout what…?" The gunner blinked. The news had briefly knocked everything else from his mind. "Oh! No problem, dude."</p><p>Vince couldn't help a slight laugh. "Yeah, it's just ghosts, right? Come on, let's go snitch on ourselves."</p><p>"Let's call it a mission report," Pidge suggested. He vaguely felt the voice trying to get through again, but this time he was ready and brushed it aside.</p><p>"A report! Totally." Daniel shook his head in disgust, and groaned. "Can't believe I suggested that. I'm turning into a responsible person."</p><p>That drew a short laugh from Pidge and a snort from Vince. "I don't think there's any real danger of that."</p><p>"I hope you're right…"</p><p>As they left, Romelle turned back to the village and sighed. "May Kistrial watch over you," she whispered almost unconsciously… then abruptly realized what she'd just said. <em>Kistrial…</em> she looked at her gaive'llar, the sign of the goddess glinting on it.</p><p>It felt wrong, and yet… she'd asked Kistrial to protect her from Lotor, hadn't she? And here she was. Free from the Drules…</p><p><em>Kistrial protect us all</em>, she thought with a small nod, and moved on.</p><p>*****</p><p>Coran squinted as the morning sun started to peek over the horizon, just slightly. He and his small team of scouts had started their mission as early as possible without it being pitch black outside. They walked as silently as they possible, not knowing when they might encounter their target, just knowing it might be any moment and they would need to be ready. The Princess seemed positive that the key to waking the lions was aboard the strange ship he'd seen. While Coran wasn’t one to question her about such things, especially when she was <em>this</em> certain, that didn’t mean the ship’s crew wouldn’t be hostile. He wasn’t one to take any unnecessary chances, either…</p><p>That thought had the old knight pulling his cane closer, craving a little security, which was moderately successful. It wasn't exactly stability he was getting from the cane; it was far more deadly than it looked. Coran was quite proud that he didn’t actually need the cane for walking, which was fortunate because they had been traveling a very long time in search of the alien ship.</p><p>They began moving more precisely and at a much slower pace as they started maneuvering through the thicker brush near the foothills. Though it made moving quietly much harder, Coran was soon grateful for the cover.</p><p>"Is that it?"</p><p>"Has to be it."</p><p>"Definitely not Drule, I've never seen anything like that."</p><p>They stopped entirely, keeping to the brush, watching for signs of movement. The ship was a little ways in front of them, in a large clearing. It was small for a spacecraft, dull silvery-black, with a pronounced engine section and stubby wingtips that poked out of armored sheaths on its side. It looked like the wings might extend when needed. Coran had hoped for at least a clue of who its occupants were, but he'd never seen a ship design like this either…</p><p>Well, so be it. He signaled his scouts to spread out and remain hidden. Storming the ship would be worse than foolish, and they had every advantage out here; they would wait until the crew revealed themselves before moving.</p><p>He hoped they weren’t waiting too long.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*<i>Sorry for the late post, had some technical difficulties that glitched up our whole chain of coordination. Next chapter should be here on schedule!</i></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Castle of Lions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Scouting the village had brought important information, no doubt. It had also gotten the unsanctioned scouts yelled at. Daniel didn't see that as a negative; it had been so long since Keith had for-real yelled at him that he'd nearly forgotten how good it felt. It certainly made him feel better about having to snitch on himself. At least their commander had reassured him, <em>emphatically</em>, that he was in no danger of becoming a responsible person any time soon.</p>
<p>Lance's damn <em>disappointed face</em> was less enjoyable. He really needed to figure out a way to do bad things without ticking Lance off…</p>
<p>Unfortunately, as a final insult, they were officially out of weird purple bread. Which meant no toast. And how was he supposed to think without toast? He wasn't, that was how. He wasn't tired, though he hadn't done much sleeping… he was just hungry and disappointed.</p>
<p>Vince, on the other hand, was exhausted. Sleep was for people who hadn't just seen <em>ghosts</em>.</p>
<p>"Alright." Keith shook his head in exasperation as he looked over his team. It felt remarkably normal. "Let's go see this village in the daylight, now that our… impromptu scouting party brought back some preliminary information."</p>
<p>"You're welcome," Daniel said, earning him a dark look. Not nearly as harsh as the one he'd gotten a few hours ago, though.</p>
<p>Lance smirked. He hadn't actually been that mad at Daniel; the kid had gotten intel and nobody had gotten shot, which for his plans was a stunning success. "And now you get to lead us to the bodies!" he said cheerfully.</p>
<p>"I'd really rather stay here," Vince protested. "I don't want to know if Arus ghosts do daylight." He didn't want to know if Arus ghosts did <em>anything</em>.</p>
<p>Pidge had not slept much either, not that he ever did, and he'd been dwelling too much on a voice he couldn't admit he'd heard. He tried to tell himself it was the specific words bothering him, rather than the fact that there had been words at all…</p>
<p><em>It is only beginning</em>.</p>
<p>What was beginning? Not like it mattered. Whatever it was he would be here on the ship, hiding from the sunlight, <em>useless</em>. Again.</p>
<p>"Mechka can stay with me," he offered in a characteristically neutral tone. <em>Keep it to yourself</em>. "Hunk can go."</p>
<p>Hunk whipped around. "Wait, who says I wanna go to the haunted village?"</p>
<p>"You afraid of ghosts, big guy?" Lance chuckled.</p>
<p>"Uh, depends if they're friendly ones or not." Based on the reports last night, these were more indifferent than <em>un</em>friendly, but that still wasn't <em>friendly</em>.</p>
<p>"You'd have to ask Romelle to figure that out." Vince still couldn't believe she'd spoken to a <em>ghost</em> like it was <em>normal</em>.</p>
<p>Keith frowned, considering the actual suggestion. They didn't have any explosives, but Hunk would still be more useful than Vince if they found themselves needing to force a door or move some wreckage or something… "That's a good idea, Pidge. We might need Hunk. Vince, you can stay." He eyed them sharply. "Just stay out of trouble."</p>
<p>Snort. "What trouble could we get into here?"</p>
<p>"Why would you <em>say</em> that, ninja? Out loud?"</p>
<p>Sighing, their commander gestured for silence, and turned to open the hatch. And as they filed out of the ship, trouble presented itself <em>immediately</em>.</p>
<p>Or at least, what had to be Arusians presented themselves immediately.</p>
<p>"Fuck!"</p>
<p>"What th—"</p>
<p>"Uh oh."</p>
<p>Sven didn't speak, but both his eyebrows shot up as he drew his knife. This was about to get interesting very quickly.</p>
<p>There were five of them, dressed in shabby clothes—some more than others, but it was clear they'd all been roughing it. Their skin was a soft tan, and each had the same crescent-shaped cheek markings as Romelle, except all of theirs were a brilliant gold. One carried a long stick carved to a spear point, and one a bow that looked simple but sturdy. Two more stood with slightly more confidence, holding Drule-model laser rifles.</p>
<p>Romelle stepped behind Hunk the moment it was clear what was happening. He didn't object. "Uh, boss," he muttered instead, putting voice to what everyone had noticed. "These ain't Drules."</p>
<p>Big Dumb Hunk was <em>on top of this</em>. But it just felt like someone ought to have said it out loud.</p>
<p>Standing at the front of the Arusians was an older man—if the gray hair and mustache were any indication—who carried only an intricately carved cane. But he wasn't leaning on it, and as his companions trained their weapons on the team, he twisted the cane's handle and drew a long, slender blade.</p>
<p>His voice was calm and authoritative as he spoke. "Don't move."</p>
<p>As if he'd needed to worry about <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Coran studied the aliens quickly. He'd seen Earthlings before, though never in person. They were about what he'd have expected, had he known it was Earthlings they were looking for: varied colors and builds, odd rounded ears, but quite similar to Arusians in many respects. And by the way they froze he assumed they did indeed speak Common. Fortunate enough. He knew the language, though he was rather rusty.</p>
<p>"Put your weapons on the ground," he instructed, after taking a moment to translate the command in his head. He kept his tone firm but non-threatening.</p>
<p>Non-threatening or not, Lance immediately tightened his grip on his guns. The last damn thing he was about to do here was—</p>
<p>
  <em>"They are only things."</em>
</p>
<p>—<em>Things?!</em> His eyes widened as the voice growled in the back of his mind. As if it didn't even <em>entertain</em> the idea that they could be in danger.</p>
<p>Maybe the voice knew something he didn't… as a flicker of warmth ran through him, he slowly set the guns down.</p>
<p>"At least they didn't wait for everyone to leave," Vince muttered; he and Pidge were still just inside the hatch, able to hear but not see what was going on. The comment earned him a hand slapped across his mouth, and he glared. <em>Like I want to face alien strangers alone with the ninja!</em></p>
<p>"Don't draw attention," the ninja in question hissed under his breath; Vince hissed back.</p>
<p>"'Cause I'm Daniel? Duh!"</p>
<p>The others had set their weapons down with varying degrees of trepidation. Keith kept his eyes on the other group's leader as he set his own at his feet, then raised his hands slowly. "We're not here to fight." It was clear the Arusians meant business, and the one who spoke for them had an air of cleverness as well as confidence about him. And he knew a quality blade when he saw one—in a fight, that cane sword would cut through his stolen ceremonial blade as if it were nothing.</p>
<p>Conquered though it may have been, this planet had held out for a long time. They'd even chased the Drules out of at least some territory, if the reports from last night's scouting were accurate. These people were not to be trifled with lightly.</p>
<p>Coran was having similar thoughts. There were five of the Earthlings—no, six, he could tell someone was hiding behind the large one. He didn't worry too much about that; his scouts had the group well covered. They looked to be a mix of confused and nervous, but they'd been armed well enough. And the Princess believed they were of some kind of importance.</p>
<p>That was enough for him, in theory, but in practice he was hardly going to take them back to her without being sure he had the right people. Without being sure they were safe. He didn't even know if this was all of them… if it wasn't, hopefully the weapons trained on their friends would prevent any others from doing anything <em>rash</em>.</p>
<p>"Who are you? What do you want?" Those were far from his only questions, but they'd do for a start.</p>
<p>"Who are you?" the apparent leader of the Earthlings countered.</p>
<p>"You are the unexpected visitors. You answer first."</p>
<p>That was fair enough, Keith supposed. Inconvenient, but fair. The only problem was coming up with an answer. Their usual cover story—god, it felt like forever since they'd used it—might get them killed without any further questions. A planet like this would probably not welcome bounty hunters just now.</p>
<p>Lance was pretty sure he should not jump in here with <em>hi, I'm Lance and we want Voltron.</em> Daniel, next to him, was pretty damn certain he shouldn't speak at <em>all</em>. For once letting Keith handle this seemed just fine.</p>
<p>For once, Keith might not have minded the intervention. "We're travelers," he offered finally.</p>
<p>It hadn't been much of an answer, and the older man's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" he repeated a bit more emphatically.</p>
<p><em>A cheeseburger and a nap?</em> Hunk was <em>positive</em> he shouldn't say that.</p>
<p>Keith exhaled slowly. One option was coming to mind that might help here, given the state of things. And it wasn't a lie, if not even close to the full truth. "We're searching for safety from the Drules," he said quietly.</p>
<p>It was immediately clear to Coran that it hadn't been the full answer. But he could hear the honesty in the Earthlings's tone, the note of raw pain buried deep within it. And even without his previous orders to bring them back unharmed, he couldn't have refused it. Arus would not turn its back on those the Drules threatened… even if what safety they could actually offer was questionable.</p>
<p>The others were nodding in agreement. Nodding in return, he sheathed his sword in his cane again. <em>Good enough, for now</em>. He didn't fully trust them, but that wasn't the criteria here. "You can lower your weapons," he said to his scouts in Arusian, and the Earthlings relaxed a little as they did so.</p>
<p>Daniel was staring at the old guy's sword cane. He was usually more of a gun person, but that was <em>really cool</em> and he was pretty sure he wanted one. Keith was having similar thoughts, no 'pretty sure' about it.</p>
<p>"You guys look a lot nicer when you're not pointin' scary things at us," Hunk commented. "Just sayin'."</p>
<p>Back inside the <em>Falcon's</em> hatch, Pidge briefly considered going out and stabbing the big engineer himself. Vince noted his expression and just shook his head.</p>
<p>Coran eyed Hunk and chuckled slightly. "You'll all need to accompany us to the castle. There's someone who is very eager to meet you."</p>
<p>"…Oh well that ain't ominous at all."</p>
<p>Lance wasn't sure if he was buying that, either. "Someone? Who? What?" He didn't feel the familiar prickling down the back of his neck. This somehow didn't feel dangerous. It really <em>should</em> feel dangerous. He surely didn't mean Voltron? No way were their lives ever that easy.</p>
<p>It took a few seconds for Coran to put that question together—to remember the difference between the words <em>who</em> and <em>what</em>, specifically. Truthfully he was very impressed with how well he'd been remembering his Common here. "They are most certainly a 'who', and you will be introduced when we reach the castle." His tone warned against further questioning. Even if he wanted to answer, under the circumstances it wouldn't have been his place.</p>
<p>Lance caught it and grinned a little. "I like a mystery." Keith actually turned and <em>shushed</em> him, drawing a laugh from Daniel and a glare from the pilot. <em>The fuck? Am I twelve?</em></p>
<p>The boss was a bit more businesslike. "Can we bring our weapons?" They couldn't afford to trust <em>too</em> easily. Nothing actually guaranteed that these Arusians weren't Drule collaborators. He didn't really think so, but they'd been through too much to get here. They couldn't afford to let their guard all the way down.</p>
<p>Coran had anticipated the question, and Allura had not given guidance on it… well, unless <em>they may be the ones to save us</em> was considered guidance. Possible saviors being allowed to keep their weapons seemed reasonable. But he could hardly let <em>his</em> guard down, either. "As long as you keep them sheathed, I don't see why not," he finally answered. Though he smiled as he said it, he also signaled for his scouts to enforce the instruction. It was a fair middle ground, he thought.</p>
<p>The Earthlings seemed to think so too. "We'll be on our best behavior," the one in the leather jacket promised with a wink.</p>
<p>"I really don't like to make those kinds of promises," the younger black-haired one muttered, but did holster his weapon.</p>
<p>"These ol' things?" the big one asked with a chuckle, retrieving his rifle and slinging it over his back. "We just keep 'em around to look pretty, yeah?"</p>
<p>Coran froze up slightly—not because of what the Earthling had said, but because of who had become visible behind him when he moved. There was a woman there, a woman who looked very much like an Arusian. But she wasn't Arusian. Not with the gold tint to her skin, or the Golden Mark not being golden at all, but lavender…</p>
<p><em>A Polluxian</em>. His small smile faltered, just for a moment, as she noted his gaze and raised her chin defiantly. Quickly he recovered and plastered the smile back in place. The Princess <em>had</em> mentioned thinking the secret of the lions might lie with Pollux, but he hadn't expected to see one of them in the company of Earthlings.</p>
<p>He noted that the rest of his scouts looked startled, too, but not startled enough. It was probably only the resemblance; if they could identify one of the ancient betrayers, no doubt the reaction would've been <em>stronger</em>.</p>
<p>Just as well, really. "Is this all of you? It would be… preferable to have your entire group."</p>
<p><em>Preferable for who?</em> Pidge eyed Vince and held up a hand. They were not setting foot off of this ship without an order from their commander. Vince didn't really want to either, though he was more worried about the pale morning sunlight filtering through the hatch.</p>
<p>Keith also hesitated. It would be wiser, tactically, to keep Pidge and Vince behind as a backup plan. Just in case. Though if the Arusians were genuine, holding his own people back could cause problems later. <em>Can we trust them? Can I really…</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes."</em>
</p>
<p>The word rumbled through his mind with a comforting purr, like a distant peal of thunder on a peaceful summer night. He gasped softly, looking to the sky. It was bright and clear, and yet he felt the crackle of lightning down his spine…</p>
<p>"…How far is it to this castle?" he asked finally. "One of us can't be out in the sun very long."</p>
<p>Vince grimaced as Pidge swore very creatively in Baltan.</p>
<p>"It's not far," the Arusian answered reassuringly, and Keith nodded. The ninja <em>had</em> insisted, repeatedly, that he could go out if he had to. Time to take him at his word.</p>
<p>"Vince. Pidge. Close it up and let's go."</p>
<p>"Yes sir…" Vince eyed the sunlight again, unconvinced.</p>
<p>Pidge was unconvinced for entirely different reasons, pulling his hood up and stepping out into the hatchway. "Sir, this is a <em>bad idea</em>."</p>
<p>"Wait, we're just going with them?" Daniel blurted, his certainty about keeping his mouth shut evaporating. "Just like that?"</p>
<p>"Your concerns are noted," Keith answered, frowning slightly. "But something told—something tells me we can trust them."</p>
<p>That wording wasn't lost on Lance. "Really?"</p>
<p>"Something?" Daniel echoed skeptically, then paused. <em>Oh right, they've got the crazy-not-crazy thing going.</em> "Nevermind."</p>
<p>Lance reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be alright." He might have heard a soft growl, too.</p>
<p>"I'm holding you to that."</p>
<p>Hunk was frowning. He was okay going with Mustache Dude, all things being equal. He was a little less okay with doing it if the boss was operating based on mysterious voices in his head, which was definitely what he seemed to have just implied…</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will see. The earth is patient."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh yeah, <em>that</em> was gonna change his mind. He considered telling the voice where exactly to stick its patience, but doubted it would really do any good. He glanced over at Sven, who caught his eye and nodded slightly. Looked like he must be getting mysterious voice reassurance too, except his way <em>actually</em> reassuring. Unfair.</p>
<p>Coran watched the two other aliens appear at the top of the ramp. One was another Earthling, dark-skinned and much more nervous-looking than the others. The other he couldn't tell anything about; it was someone short and lithe wearing faintly iridescent black leather. That must be the one who couldn't be in sunlight.</p>
<p>As they moved down the ramp, Vince noted the large hole in Pidge's suit and the already-burnt skin beneath it, and before he could really think about it, he put a hand up to shield the area. Then he froze—so did Pidge—for a moment they just stared at each other and he was <em>very</em> glad he couldn't see the ninja's expression.</p>
<p>Then, he heard a very quiet and sullen, "Thanks."</p>
<p><em>Whew.</em> "No problem."</p>
<p>Looking at the Arusians, Keith stepped forward and took a deep breath. Here went nothing… "Lead the way."</p>
<p>As they started forward, Hunk started whistling Ride of the Valkyries. It wasn't quite the same without the heavy metal.</p>
<p>The sun was getting brighter as they approached the bridge; Keith noted that as it got brighter out, the Arusians' skin became noticeably darker. That wasn't something that seemed to happen with Romelle, and he found himself idly wondering about the divergence between their people. For certain they'd only scratched the surface of the history there, and he'd noticed their leader's reaction to seeing Romelle for the first time.</p>
<p>Pidge had noticed the change as well, and wasn't thinking at all about the history of an ancient exile. Only about how convenient an adaptation that must be, and how <em>intensely</em> jealous he was right now.</p>
<p>Rather than following the river, after crossing the bridge they forged straight ahead into the meadow. The two scouts with rifles were scanning the sky carefully. "No cover?" Sven murmured half to himself, surprised. These people had held out much too long to be so careless, surely…</p>
<p>"Most of the enemy's aerial assets have long since been reassigned," Coran explained. "And the meadow itself is better cover than you might think." He said something in his own language to the scout with the spear, who nodded and dropped to her stomach. The long grass sprang back up around her, rippling and swaying in the breeze; for the first time Sven noted that the scouts were all wearing mottled green cloaks. The combination left her very nearly invisible.</p>
<p><em>Not careless at all</em>. They knew what they were doing, and they'd gotten very good at it. He nodded, impressed.</p>
<p>Daniel was feeling nervous, but it wasn't about Drules. Not really. It was more like about, well… everything. Lance noticed and gave him a small nod. "It <em>will</em> be okay, kid," he promised again. "I just feel it."</p>
<p>No question what that meant. "I really hope you're not crazy." Smirk. "I'd hate to have to permanently take over your position as pilot."</p>
<p>Lance snorted. "Never going to happen, kid."</p>
<p>"We'll see."</p>
<p>There was a familiarity in the way they acted, Coran thought. They reminded him a little bit of his old division among the Golden Knights. Perhaps more than a bit; at least a couple of them felt likely to be soldiers or ex-soldiers themselves, though others he highly doubted. Most of all the Polluxian, whose eyes were darting over the meadow as though she couldn't decide how she felt about being here.</p>
<p>Fair enough. He wasn't too sure how he felt about her being here, either.</p>
<p>A dark shape was starting to come into view on the horizon. The castle? They were heading right for it, so it was <em>likely</em> to be the castle, at least. Keith kept his eyes on it for as long as he could, but then the meadow dipped a bit, and the slope of the small valley blocked it from view.</p>
<p>"We're close," the old Arusian murmured, confirming his thoughts. And then they moved back up the slope, close enough to really <em>see</em> what they were approaching.</p>
<p>"Holy…"</p>
<p>"Damn."</p>
<p>"…Fuzzmuffins."</p>
<p>"Whoa."</p>
<p>"Fuck." The whole team had frozen, and Lance's eyes traced the structure looming ahead of them. "That… that was beautiful, once…"</p>
<p>Romelle could only gasp, feeling torn all over again. The legendary castle was ruined… no, not exactly. Ruins would have been somehow easier to take.</p>
<p>It was still beautiful, in a haunting way. The castle was built of gray stone, and some patches still gleamed in the sunlight; others had been damaged, the polish stripped away by Drule bombardment. A few tattered banners still flew, but there were far more empty spires and parapets. The doors were huge and cracked. A huge marble statue of a lion sat to the left of the door. To the right, the remains of another—much of the body had been smashed, though the noble face still gazed forward.</p>
<p>
  <em>The Castle of Lions…</em>
</p>
<p>All the lost beauty of the castle was somewhat belied by the <em>gaping holes</em> in the structure. One whole tower was gutted, the top part somehow still jutting out over a huge empty space. Other gaps were less dramatic, but no less wrenching to look at.</p>
<p>"It is very impressive," Pidge said quietly, in the shadow of his teammates' shock. No doubt it had been pretty before, but he was more impressed by the structural integrity. Any lesser construction would have—should have—been pure rubble.</p>
<p>Looking away, Romelle felt a violent shudder go through her. She could only hope her own castle and planet didn't look like this by now… next to her, Hunk's thoughts were following a very different track. If the team were a building, they'd look just about like that, really.</p>
<p>Lance's thoughts were on other destroyed buildings, on Beau Terre… he looked up at the brilliant blue sky and exhaled, comforted by it. <em>Home</em>.</p>
<p>There was a moat, though it only seemed designed to prevent frontal access; it didn't even circle the whole castle. The drawbridge was scorched and broken and didn't invite too much confidence, but a couple of smaller bridges had been constructed alongside it. One of them reminded Keith of the bridge back near the <em>Falcon</em>. The other was very different, a utilitarian metal structure that looked more characteristic of Drule design…</p>
<p>
  <em>What in the world happened here?</em>
</p>
<p>Hopefully they were finally going to find out.</p>
<p>"This way." Their guide led them to the Arusian-built bridge, with the other scouts following. Their vigilance had obviously spiked, now that the alien strangers were approaching their castle.</p>
<p>"Are we supposed to go in there?"</p>
<p>"It looks like it'll just fall on top of us."</p>
<p>Hunk gave the structure another examination, gratefully engaging his engineer brain this time. "It won't." He could see the structural supports in his mind—where they must be, the load distribution, the redundancies that allowed the place to still be standing at all. And where you'd have to stick another bomb to finish the job… not what they were here for, of course, but the fact that he could identify no less than four more supports that would have to be eliminated was encouraging.</p>
<p>"Seems like despite it all, it's made of sturdy stuff." Lance's eyes were on the front doors as they approached. It was covered in intricate carvings, murals that were still mostly intact. This place really had been beautiful, and he felt his fists clenching. Like the Galra, the damn Drules had taken so much. Too much.</p>
<p>Though Vince wasn't sure he trusted the place, he was torn between the slim fear of being crushed by a collapsing ceiling and the more immediate concern of Pidge being out in the sun. "You're sure?"</p>
<p>"Dropping a castle on us would be a highly inefficient way of doing things," Pidge pointed out. He didn't exactly trust the Arusians, but if they wanted the team dead there were much easier ways.</p>
<p>He did palm his knife.</p>
<p>Coran had listened to this conversation with interest, as well. Travelers, they'd said they were. It sounded like they were very accustomed to talking through such questionable situations… "I assure you that it is safe. At least moderately." The royal engineers had strongly advised they <em>not</em> go up into the unsupported southeast tower.</p>
<p>"Moderately?" the big Earthling repeated. "You know how to reassure people, yeah?"</p>
<p>Shrug. "Would you prefer I lie?" A couple of the others snorted at that, and the nervous one from aboard the ship gave him an extremely doubtful look.</p>
<p>To his surprise, the big man smiled brightly. "My dude, I blow stuff up for a livin'. This place looks <em>fine</em>." The nervous one gave him a look that was somehow even <em>more</em> doubtful, and their leader gave an exasperated sigh.</p>
<p>Coran was not clear on what a 'dude' was, and sincerely doubted he was indeed <em>his dude</em>, but decided not to make an issue of it. It had sounded like an attempt at friendliness, and the friendlier things could be right now, the better.</p>
<p>He pushed the doors open and led them inside.</p>
<p>It was dark inside the castle. Keith blinked a few times, waiting for his eyes to adjust, watching the Arusians' skin become rather pale. The golden markings on their cheeks nearly seemed to glow in the darkness.</p>
<p>"This is creepy," Daniel announced as he waited for his vision to get itself sorted out. He didn't need to see much to figure out <em>dark</em> and <em>empty</em> and <em>spooky</em>.</p>
<p>"True that."</p>
<p>"Very creepy."</p>
<p>"What, a dark room in a crumbling castle? What's creepy about that?"</p>
<p>"Who would've guessed." Pidge had lowered his hood and removed his glasses; he could see just fine in the darkness. There was a large—no, huge—staircase in front of them, with a few chunks taken out of the stone. He thought he might have seen a mouse scurrying across one of the steps, though it was gone before he could be sure.</p>
<p>Romelle had seen it too, though as a blur of deep red warmth—what the Earthlings had called infrared—rather than being able to make out any details. She could see enough of the entry hall to note the rubble strewn over the ground. "What a mess."</p>
<p>Having also seen the mouse, knowing it meant Allura was nearby, Coran eyed the Polluxian and smiled patiently. "We have not had time to properly clean it, but it is on the list."</p>
<p>Romelle gave him a <em>look</em>, and Hunk didn't quite fight down a snicker. Lance did better at not laughing, though he did nod his approval of Mustache Dude's snark.</p>
<p>"You brought us here," Pidge muttered, getting a nudge from Vince.</p>
<p>"Pidge."</p>
<p>"Was I inaccurate?" The place <em>was</em> a mess, if he didn't want them commenting on it he probably shouldn't have insisted they come with him.</p>
<p>Vince sighed.</p>
<p>Most of the team could see now, and for the most part their initial trepidation was fading again. It just seemed like a creepy ruin. Wasn't the first one of <em>those</em> they'd seen on this mission. Now it was just a matter of…</p>
<p>"Princess, I believe it's safe."</p>
<p>He'd said it in Arusian; Romelle still snapped her head towards him, reflexively. He couldn't be talking to her. The others tensed but didn't react beyond that, given they couldn't understand what he'd said… but then footsteps from the top of the staircase got their attention.</p>
<p>"Greetings," a warm voice spoke from the darkness, "and welcome to the Castle of Lions." A young woman stepped from the shadows.</p>
<p>Lance whistled. <em>Good entrance</em>.</p>
<p><em>Didn't see that coming</em>. Pidge almost dropped his knife. The others just looked up the stairs in stunned silence.</p>
<p>She was beautiful, though far from spared the ravages of what had happened to her planet. Her long blonde hair was ragged and her gaze was slightly haunted. She was wearing a pink and white jacket covered in delicate embroidery, very different from the scouts' simple garments, or even their leader's battered finery. That alone was enough to mark her as someone of importance…</p>
<p>Then there was the delicate tiara on her forehead. And the nobility she carried herself with as she moved down the stairs. And the fact that she was hanging out in the creepy ruined castle at all, actually. Maybe mostly that last one.</p>
<p>"Gentlemen and lady, may I present Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Allura Hanna Raimon of Arus." Their guide dipped his head respectfully. "Princess, these are…" Then he blinked, realizing the rather significant thing that had been forgotten in all the excitement. "Actually, we have not exchanged names quite yet."</p>
<p>"Sometimes I forget we have names," Hunk whispered under his breath, and Vince nodded in fervent agreement.</p>
<p>Allura paused on the bottom step, looking over the new arrivals. There was a Polluxian, just as she'd thought there might be. A boy who didn't quite seem to be an Earthling, though she couldn't tell precisely what he was. And six Earthlings… she looked over them and found her gaze lingering on their leader. Those electric-blue eyes. She'd seen them before.</p>
<p>
  <em>We are coming.</em>
</p>
<p><em>It </em>is <em>him</em>.</p>
<p>Keith gulped as the princess' eyes locked on his, seeming to stare into and through him. As if she were expecting something, and judging whether they would be found wanting. He didn't dare look away.</p>
<p>He was definitely supposed to be introducing himself right now. But how he hell was he supposed to do that, exactly? Tell the Crown Princess of a destroyed planet that they were soldiers, here searching for an ancient weapon on her world? Not damn likely…</p>
<p>"I'm Keith," he finally blurted out.</p>
<p><em>Oh, yes. </em>That's <em>how you wanted to do this, Commander Crystal Spur.</em></p>
<p>Both of Sven's eyebrows shot up for what felt like the dozenth time today. There had been a lot of surprises. But if that was the standard of informality being set, well, it was the standard he'd go with. "I'm Sven." He could hear, actually he could <em>feel</em>, his mother shrieking in his head. Oh well.</p>
<p>"Hi, uh, I'm Vince." Vince was surprised to have spoken so quickly, but he'd basically just managed to remember his own name and wanted to get it out before he forgot it again.</p>
<p>Lance and Daniel had exchanged shrugs, both at Keith's informality and, well, the general situation. But they might as well roll with it. "I'm Lance," he gave his most charming grin, "and it's <em>very</em> nice to meet you."</p>
<p>"Yo." Daniel flashed a peace sign and found himself fumbling for words. Why the hell did he feel so awkward? This was the second princess he'd met—though in his defense, the first situation had been a lot different… "Uhh, me Daniel." Oh dear god, how was <em>that</em> what had finally come out of his mouth?</p>
<p>"Romelle," the other princess in question said quietly, a small frown on her face. She was not about to mention her rank here.</p>
<p>This was going downhill in a hurry; Hunk gave his biggest grin in hopes of lightening things up. "Everyone calls me Hunk."</p>
<p>"…Pidge." Their ninja somehow managed to sound even more skeptical than the last time he'd introduced himself to a princess.</p>
<p>Looking over the group and committing the names to memory, Allura found herself glad that she'd kept this situation as quiet as possible. The new arrivals were quite the informal group; Nanny would have fainted by now, or worse. It didn't bother her. If they were indeed what she hoped, she'd have hugged each and every one of them, but suspected it wasn't the wisest course just now.</p>
<p>Perhaps later.</p>
<p>"Who's he?" Pidge asked in the sudden silence, pointing at the Arusian who'd led them here. Hunk moved to elbow him, then stopped. It was actually a good question.</p>
<p>"My name is Coran," he answered easily, bowing his head again. If they weren't doing full names here, he supposed he could adapt to that. "Royal advisor to the princess."</p>
<p>Coran the royal advisor. Lance felt Mustache Dude was more fitting, but whatever worked.</p>
<p>"So… what happened here?" Keith asked, looking around the mess that had once been a grand entryway.</p>
<p><em>Assholes happened</em>, Lance thought, but managed to bite it down.</p>
<p>Daniel did not, of course. "Pretty sure Drules blew up their castle." Keith sighed.</p>
<p>Allura hesitated a moment, unsure about how to respond. She didn't really want to answer that question. She didn't want to have to relive the attack, and most of all, she didn't want to waste even a second. She wanted to take them all before the Lion of Storms and discover what secret it was that they held, what key they had brought to bring her planet salvation…</p>
<p><em>No</em>. Black had been very clear. She could nudge them, guide them, but they had to reach the Great Lions on their own. Taking them there herself might do nothing. It might do worse than nothing. The temptation was strong, but she must not succumb.</p>
<p>Instead she sighed heavily, looking up at the cracked ceiling. "Yes. They came without warning. I and my people were rushed to the underground shelters… what we thought were relics of the ancient wars of legend, never to be needed again."</p>
<p>Several winces ran through the team; Lance's was probably the most intense. "How many survived?" he asked softly.</p>
<p>"Not many." She lowered her eyes. "Many were killed or taken as slaves in the initial attack. Many more have perished during the occupation."</p>
<p><em>Damn</em>. It was about what they'd all expected to hear, but that didn't make actually hearing it any easier. Even Romelle shuddered.</p>
<p>"We've been trying to fight back ever since. My father was able to rally our survivors and keep the invaders searching for quite some time, but… now he is gone."</p>
<p>A few muttered curses answered that. It sounded too familiar… "Really sorry to hear that, Princess."</p>
<p>"I… we're sorry for your loss."</p>
<p>"Yeah, same."</p>
<p>Allura nodded, grateful for the words; they were awkward, but she could feel their sincerity. It would almost have been concerning if they'd been too smooth, reacted too easily. Instead she could sense a sort of echo. The people before her had suffered loss as well.</p>
<p><em>Nudge them</em>. She hadn't been sure exactly how to <em>do</em> that, but she was starting to get an inkling. Perhaps they were alien strangers, but they weren't too alien to relate…</p>
<p>"We haven't noticed much of their activity since we landed," Keith said quietly. "Or any, really."</p>
<p>"The Drules?" Now the princess smiled. "We recently were able to reclaim the castle. We took the governor alive, and… encouraged him to aid us in keeping up regular reports while we strengthened our position." Her smile faded. "But he escaped recently. We have been preparing… there's every reason to expect their forces are approaching again as we speak."</p>
<p>Telling them the governor had also been eaten by wild animals might <em>not</em> be the wisest decision.</p>
<p>"So you did manage to chase them off as we were told," Romelle murmured.</p>
<p><em>Chased them off, but not for good</em>. "That's both impressive and a bit worrying." Lance sounded more impressed, but he definitely felt more worried. <em>A bit. Heh</em>.</p>
<p>Daniel looked more worried, too. <em>Great, they're coming back. I'd better not end up a slave again</em>. He would have some <em>very strongly worded complaints</em> if any of that shit happened again.</p>
<p>Exchanging looks with Sven, Keith decided it was time to mention at least part of the truth. "We just recently escaped from Korrinoth. We shook them off our immediate trail, but they'll be looking for us as well."</p>
<p>Both Coran and Allura startled at that. <em>Escaped from Korrinoth?</em> Neither had ever heard of such a thing. There was much more to that story than was being told…</p>
<p><em>Guide them</em>. "It would seem we may be allies, then."</p>
<p>…Well then. Any vague thoughts Keith might have had about admitting their real purpose here immediately vanished. He looked back at his team, reading it reflected in their eyes… well, several of them. Sven and Lance clearly wanted no part of admitting it. Vince looked torn. Daniel on the other hand was clearly struggling not to blurt it out, until Lance gave him a nudge—this 'controlling what he said' thing he had to do when he was trying to be good was so damn <em>annoying</em>.</p>
<p>Pidge was the one who actually spoke up. "And you have no defenses?" This time Hunk did elbow him, earning a glare; regardless of the Voltron issue, it was a completely valid question. It was perhaps the most important question.</p>
<p>Before anyone even answered him in words, he felt a sense of contradiction flicker through him. A soft growl brushing against his psionic barriers. He pushed it aside as usual, but this time it actually seemed to be giving him useful information… maybe?</p>
<p>The others were feeling it too. Static was crackling down Keith's spine, and it felt almost as though it were encouraging him to tell the truth. But that seemed like a terrible idea. He fought the urge down, shivering; he felt like he might trust the rumbling growl that was following him, but trusting its motivations and trusting its judgment were two quite different things.</p>
<p>At <em>that</em> thought, he felt the purring chuckle again.</p>
<p>"So it may appear," the princess agreed softly. "But I am hopeful that those appearances will prove incorrect."</p>
<p>"Hopeful?" Lance echoed. Was she crazy? What the hell did it mean she was <em>hopeful?</em></p>
<p>The warmth whispered through him. <em>"As are you."</em></p>
<p>His eyes widened. Hopeful… or crazy. Maybe he was a bit of both. Maybe she was a bit of both. <em>It does fit, doesn't it?</em> he thought, staring at the princess in a new light as he felt the low growl of agreement. Maybe they were exactly where they needed to be.</p>
<p>"Yes." She nodded, closing her eyes. She could feel the presences in the room. The lightning that accompanied Black's voice, but more than that. Other presences she'd barely begun to comprehend… fire, wind, water, and earth. "Arus may yet become free again. It is possible, I can feel it."</p>
<p><em>What does that mean?</em> Sven wasn't sure if it was his own internal thoughts, or a question he was directing to the voice in his head. And even <em>thinking</em> he might be asking the voice in his head about it, <em>intentionally</em>, was so far off the rails of where this mission had begun. Hell, it was so far off the rails of where this mission had been three days ago. And hearing the princess, standing in these ruins, speaking of what—blind hope?—seemed like some sort of madness.</p>
<p>Whether he'd been soliciting one or not, he received an answer. That same soft growl of amusement.<em>"She is no more mad than you are."</em></p>
<p>Well that wasn't encouraging.</p>
<p>"I can feel it," the princess whispered again. <em>Yes. It's as if all five lions are here…</em></p>
<p>Hunk felt the rocky growl fill his mind, startling, his eyes darting around the entryway. He was half expecting to somehow see a robot lion just sitting there inside the castle. That, of course, wasn't the case. Only a voice…<em>"There is hope."</em></p>
<p>Romelle was not hearing anything, except for her own soft and rather unladylike snort. Nothing on this planet seemed to justify that kind of certainty. Maybe the Arusians weren't as childish and naive as her people thought them to be—maybe they were <em>worse</em>.</p>
<p>"We were hoping to find some shelter from the Drules," Keith said finally. That wasn't a lie. It was only a slim fragment of the truth, to be sure, but it was true so far as it went.</p>
<p>Allura nodded, an expression of grim certainty on her face. "We have plenty of space here, and contingency plans, as you can imagine. Perhaps having escaped them once, your experience will be able to help us." She knew she couldn't truly promise them <em>protection</em>. Not unless… no. Their presence here would lead to safety for everyone on Arus, she was certain of it. It <em>had</em> to. So she smiled. "You are welcome to stay."</p>
<p>"We are—I mean, wow, thanks!" Lance matched her smile with a charming grin.</p>
<p>Keith nodded. "We appreciate that very much, Princess." As he said it he felt a pang. What were they getting into now? What corners might they be backing themselves into?</p>
<p>But they were an Explorer Team. Forging ahead and thinking on their feet was their specialty. They couldn't stop trusting themselves now.</p>
<p>Daniel looked around the very beat-up castle and exchanged glances with Vince, who somehow looked even less enthusiastic. He had very little faith that this place was any safer than the ship. Bad enough that all this obvious pussyfooting around the word Voltron was making him feel like <em>he</em> was going crazy, too…</p>
<p>He understood why they had to do it, he thought, but damn if it wasn't making him <em>fucking bonkers</em>.</p>
<p>Pidge didn't really want to stay in the castle either, but he also recognized that they were going to have to reconsider the plan. Though, needing to reconsider the plan was also an excellent reason <em>not</em> to stay here. They would need somewhere secure to discuss their actual mission, and had no way of ensuring privacy anywhere here. "Can we bring the ship closer?"</p>
<p>Keith blinked at the question, but immediately saw the utility. The others nodded too; regardless of their feelings about the creepy ruined castle, they'd become comfortable on the <em>Falcon</em> over the course of their escape. And their stuff was there—such as it was.</p>
<p>"It would be nice if we could have the ship nearby," he agreed. Landing it in the open meadow seemed like it would be simple enough, assuming it didn't violate some kind of Arusian sensibility. "Princess, would we have your permission to bring it closer?"</p>
<p><em>Oh, </em>now <em>he's formal</em>. Sven hid a small grin.</p>
<p>"Of course." She was hardly going to deny them that. And having a spacecraft nearby could prove useful, depending what it might yet require to wake the lions. "Perhaps once you've done that and settled in a bit, you might join myself and Coran for a meal? I'm curious to know more about your journey to our world."</p>
<p>"…Now you're talkin' our language," Hunk grinned.</p>
<p><em>You can't be serious.</em> Pidge was about to say it out loud; then he heard Vince's stomach rumble next to him. His fellow engineer immediately looked mortified, but… he sighed. They <em>had</em> been rationing pretty strictly of late.</p>
<p>"Food sounds awesome," Daniel said immediately, his thoughts on a similar track. "I vote food." Did Arusians have toast?</p>
<p>Keith frowned slightly. It didn't seem like the Arusians could have much food to spare themselves, given their circumstances. But it would also be an opportunity to gain information, and they did have some supplies they could offer. Just not bread. Besides, when an actual Crown Princess invited you to dinner, he was pretty damn sure you didn't refuse.</p>
<p><em>Now </em>there's <em>our Commander Crystal Spur.</em></p>
<p>"It would be very rude to say no," Sven muttered at the same time he reached that conclusion, and he bit down a small chuckle.</p>
<p>"We would be honored, Princess Allura."</p>
<p>"Wonderful." She nodded to Coran's scouts and spoke in Arusian. It was a sharp, heavily consonant language, but not unpleasant to listen to. "They will lead you to an intact guest wing. Please—I know it isn't the most luxurious of arrangements—but consider yourselves honored guests."</p>
<p>Looking over them, she could see their questions. She could <em>feel</em> them. So much confusion and skepticism she could hardly blame them for… especially from Romelle, who looked horribly torn. As much as Allura wanted to speak to Keith, the man with lightning eyes from her vision, she decided the Polluxian would need to be her first priority. For more reasons than one. She wanted these strangers to wake the lions and save her world, but she refused to just see them as pawns.</p>
<p>As she watched Coran and his people leading them deeper into the castle, she felt Black Lion purring in her mind. And she smiled.</p>
<p>
  <em>The Great Lions will fly again.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Failure to Communicate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith had dispatched Sven and Hunk to retrieve the <em>Falcon</em>—even as much as Lance loved flying, a routine short relocation hop did not outweigh wandering <em>an actual castle</em>. Daniel had volunteered, but the commander wasn't really in the mood to give him what he wanted just now. So it was their navigator who found himself walking down a dark tunnel with Hunk, following a silver-haired Arusian woman who'd been introduced as Captain Sarial of the castle village militia. She seemed warm but no-nonsense, which was probably a useful combination for leading amateur soldiers against an unexpected alien conqueror… obviously she was doing <em>something</em> right, if she'd been the one assigned to keep an eye on them.</p>
<p>As she guided them from the tunnels, Hunk went dead still. The well-camouflaged exit had opened into a small house in the foothills, one long since abandoned and overgrown. One that had, despite all that, been disturbed a mere couple of days ago. "You gotta be… we <em>knew</em> this place seemed kinda freaky!"</p>
<p>Sven raised an eyebrow; it was a wonder one or both of them hadn't fallen off, as much as he'd been doing that lately. "You've been here before?"</p>
<p>"This is that house we checked out after landin' here." He looked around and shook his head. It was frustrating—they'd been this close?—but also kind of encouraging. At least they'd finally gotten an unequivocal answer to <em>something</em> around here.</p>
<p>"Ah." That did make sense, Sven decided, looking around. Once Sarial closed the tunnel exit, it was rendered all but invisible by the stonework and the shadows.</p>
<p>She was eyeing Hunk with a bit of concern as she sealed it up. "What is 'freaky' about it?"</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>. He flushed, embarrassed. "Uh, just that it seemed super deserted and stuff, like—almost too deserted, yeah? Like, someone did a <em>real</em> good packing job before they bailed on it."</p>
<p>"Hmm." She mulled that over as they started for the ship. "If you noticed that, perhaps we should look into improving its camouflage."</p>
<p>"…Yeah, maybe?"</p>
<p>"Perhaps you should." Sven shrugged. It looked like a normal house to him, and even knowing something seemed off about it the team hadn't been able to <em>find</em> the tunnel entrance. But he could also appreciate an abundance of caution, given the situation.</p>
<p>The <em>Falcon</em> looked the same as they'd left it, untouched by Drules or lizards or anything in between. That was a good sign, at least. "Home sweet spaceship," Hunk muttered, chuckling.</p>
<p>Sven shook his head. "Are you driving, or me?"</p>
<p>"You ever seen me try to fly a ship, bro?"</p>
<p>"No. But it's not exactly my forte, either."</p>
<p>"You've at least got bridge trainin', I blow things up! And kinda-sorta understand engines."</p>
<p>The navigator nodded. "Point."</p>
<p>Sarial looked between them curiously, hefting her bow; she'd brought it and a scavenged Drule rifle, though she didn't really feel like she was going to need either one. They sounded much less sure of their positions than she'd have expected. "Didn't your leader choose you two to perform the retrieval?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, and he sent me cuz I kinda-sorta understand engines!" Hunk said with a bright grin. Almost immediately, he heard the rocky voice scoffing in his mind; his smile quickly faded, but fortunately, Sven had spoken up to draw the Arusian's attention.</p>
<p>"He likes to overestimate our capabilities."</p>
<p>Now that sounded familiar, and Sarial couldn't help a chuckle of her own. "I don't know how it is among starship crews, but among my soldiers I find people often live up to what they consider overly high expectations."</p>
<p>Hunk whispered something about landing without maps; Sven muttered, completely deadpan, "And that would be why he keeps doing it." Mercifully, they reached the ship before the engineer could give him any more grief about that, and he gave Sarial a polite nod as he opened the hatch. "Welcome to the <em>Falcon</em>."</p>
<p>Her eyes were sharp as she took in the mechanisms of the airlock, and her fascination as they reached the bridge was clear. "I've never been aboard a spacecraft before." She looked around and chose the seat that <em>didn't</em> have a large and intimidating bank of monitors in front of it—it seemed the least likely to be something important.</p>
<p>Sven sat at the helm reluctantly; he really did not care for takeoffs, and even less for landings. Really he didn't like gravity at all—give him hyperspace any day. At least unlike the last time he'd done a takeoff roll, they weren't fleeing Galra surveillance. Still, he'd have preferred Lance or Keith in this seat. Even Daniel would've been acceptable.</p>
<p>Looking back at Sarial with amusement—she looked <em>very</em> out of place in Keith's command chair—Hunk moved through the partition to the engine bay and tilted his head. What they'd seen of the planet so far seemed pretty medieval, but that may or may not mean anything. "You seem to know about 'em though, yeah? I mean, before bad guys dropped on your heads in the things."</p>
<p>"We did have space travel before the Drules," she confirmed as the engines sprang to life. "Mostly for trade. It wasn't something the average citizen thought about often."</p>
<p><em>Interesting</em>. Sven pulled the <em>Falcon</em> around, taxiing back to the stretch of flat earth where they'd originally touched down. "Your Common English is very good, for a society that doesn't think often of the outside galaxy?"</p>
<p>The Arusian laughed. "The diplomatic languages are usually the domain of the nobility and the Court, but we do have knowledge of them. I'm the only soldier here aside from Lord Coran who speaks Common at all."</p>
<p>"Why did you learn it, then? Are you part of the Court?" It seemed unlikely, but this <em>was</em> an alien planet. The leader of the castle village's militia might have some social rank, he supposed…</p>
<p>But she shook her head. "It's only a hobby of mine. I was the village librarian, as a day job; plenty of access to the materials."</p>
<p>A <em>librarian</em>. For some reason, Sven found himself filing that information away, he would certainly want some books if they were here long… they weren't supposed to be here for long. They were supposed to… he shook his head slightly, half expecting to hear the amused growl in his mind. No, he didn't care to follow that train of thought at this moment.</p>
<p>"Handy hobby," Hunk commented from the engine panels. "All green back here, bro." Not that the Bataxi used green—or any specific color at all—to represent engine status, preferring the use of symbols. But 'all trapezoidal' would've only confused the issue.</p>
<p>Nodding, Sven pushed the <em>Falcon</em> forward, extending the wings and lifting them into the sky.</p>
<p>Sarial watched carefully. It wouldn't be a long flight at all to the castle; she'd been instructed to gather information if she could. Those instructions aside, she was genuinely curious. She'd never spoken to aliens before—or at least, not to aliens who weren't trying to kill her. "Is it a common thing where you come from? To be spacecraft crew."</p>
<p><em>Ain't </em>that <em>a loaded question</em>. Hunk was pretty sure it wasn't <em>un</em>common, at least. It also wasn't exactly what the team really was, but if she wanted to make that assumption he wasn't going to stop her…</p>
<p>"It's not uncommon," Sven answered, and Hunk sighed with relief. Definitely better to let the Viking handle this. "We are a very curious people, which puts exploring right up our alley."</p>
<p>She nodded her understanding, then turned back towards the engines. "And you said you… 'blow things up'?"</p>
<p>Hunk's relief evaporated in an instant.</p>
<p>"Uh… heh, I did say that, didn't I?" he agreed as Sven shook his head in mild exasperation. "It ain't all like that, I'm an engineer, yeah? My main gig's bein' a bomb—uh, a demolitions tech," he was really <em>trying</em> not to sound like a walking spontaneous combustion risk, "turns out there's some overlap with spaceship stuff." He pointed at the engine panels. "We're kinda flyin' around on controlled explosions, so it works out."</p>
<p>That hadn't been a bad recovery at all, Sven thought. Though the truth actually didn't seem too dangerous here either. "While exploring, we also sometimes run into things that block our path. It's good to have someone aboard who knows explosives." As he banked the <em>Xaela</em> back over the foothills he muttered, "Granted Daniel <em>claims</em> to be good at blowing things up, but I'd much prefer the expertise Hunk brings."</p>
<p><em>"Always</em> count on an expert to do the blowin' up, bro."</p>
<p>Sarial looked between them. They were confident and friendly; the big one seemed almost to be so friendly he was flustering himself. Rumor said the Princess herself believed they were important to the battle against the Drules for some reason. What a single ship and its crew, no matter how skilled, could do against the coming counterattack, Sarial couldn't imagine. But they certainly didn't seem like threats…</p>
<p>"Wish we had a little more of an expert on <em>these</em> things," Hunk grumbled as one of the trapezoids turned into a blinking oval. "Bro, you've got a throttle misaligned, might wanna check 'em."</p>
<p>A small patch of turbulence had preceded that report; Sven glanced over the levers and noted that one had indeed been jolted just slightly out of position. "Cleared."</p>
<p>Well, at least he'd actually read the warning correctly, the engineer decided. It was a routine one, sure, but he was still not at all comfortable with—</p>
<p>
  <em>"Still hiding, I see."</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk's eyes narrowed. He didn't startle at the voice as much anymore, he just resented it. "Still annoyin', I see."</p>
<p>"Is something wrong?"</p>
<p>Now he did startle, and blushed bright as he turned to their Arusian overseer. "Uh, just yellin' at the engines. I do that sometimes, it's a thing."</p>
<p>That last part <em>was</em> true, so far as it went.</p>
<p>Sven was certain it wasn't the engine Hunk was yelling at. The voices were popping up at more and more inconvenient times… as if on cue, he heard a gentle chuckle in the back of his mind.</p>
<p>Oh no she didn't. He was busy with a spaceship. <em>I am driving, do </em>not <em>distract me.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Can you not multitask?"</em>
</p>
<p>He sputtered slightly and hissed, "You are <em>ridiculous</em>." Immediately he regretted saying it out loud—it hadn't been that loud, but Sarial was also a lot closer to him than to Hunk.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I am in no way ridiculous."</em>
</p>
<p><em>I disagree, </em>he retorted immediately, and was rewarded only with more chuckling.</p>
<p>Captain Sarial had a suspicion of what was really happening here: Sven was covering for his flustered companion by doing the same thing. It was a nice gesture, if so, and she decided to play along. "Do you argue with your piloting controls also? Is it common?" Perhaps it actually <em>was</em> common—she knew enough village merchants who had plenty to say to their misbehaving packbeasts. Maybe Earthlings had simply done the same thing, and kept doing it even after their vehicles stopped caring.</p>
<p>Had he known what the Arusian was thinking, Sven might've laughed himself. As it was, he was grateful for the excuse. "Yes," he said after a moment's hesitation. "It makes me feel better. I don't always enjoy piloting, I much prefer maps."</p>
<p>The damned growl was chuckling <em>again</em>. As if she knew something he didn't.</p>
<p>That did draw Sarial's interest. "Are you a mapmaker, the way… Hunk?… is a demolitions technician?"</p>
<p>"Navigator. Reading maps is more my job, though I've made one or two on our travels."</p>
<p>Nodding, Sarial fell silent. The ship was heading for the meadow and she could see the navigator's concentration deepening. Best not to distract him further. But she was thinking back to the things she'd scavenged from the Dolce Vita library after the attack. The classics, of course; the Drules couldn't be allowed to destroy the treasures of Arusian culture. Everything they'd had on wildlife identification and folk remedies, which had been invaluable for keeping the shelters supplied. And, equally important for reconnaissance, several mapbooks. Perhaps he'd find them interesting.</p>
<p>Or perhaps they would be useful. After all, if the aliens were here for long, they'd probably be caught up in the arrival of a vengeful Drule fleet. And then they would all need all the help they could get…</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith stood quietly, watching the clear sky for the <em>Falcon.</em> A slight breeze was making his hair flutter slightly. He could picture it; he'd caught sight of himself in one of the castle windows earlier. He was a mess. <em>Wish I could get a haircut, but that's low priority.</em> They weren't here to be attractive… but if the opportunity presented itself, he might at least ask for some scissors.</p>
<p>Footsteps sounded behind him and he turned, seeing the old royal advisor coming up behind him. He nodded to Coran, who leaned on his cane as he stopped beside him, and couldn't help but have his thoughts drift to what the cane hid. A small pang of envy washed over him.</p>
<p>The silence between them was comfortable, but questions were burning in Coran’s mind. There was more to these offworlders than what they were letting on. They'd <em>escaped from Korrinoth,</em> they said…</p>
<p>He was quiet for a few moments longer before speaking. "So, how did you and your companions come to be here?"</p>
<p>Keith pursed his lips for a moment. Admitting the true mission was still out of the question "We were travelling the stars, seeing what we could see. Tried to cross through somewhere we… apparently shouldn’t have been, and ended up conscripted by the Drules. Found ourselves fighting in their gladiator arena. I—<em>we</em>—lost three friends before we managed to escape."</p>
<p>The older gentleman’s eyebrow raised at the first part of Keith’s statement; that was still <em>not</em> an answer. But his next words drew sympathy instead. <em>Loss is hard on us all. </em>"I see. I’m sorry that not all of you were able to make it out."</p>
<p>Nod. "Thank you." Keith looked back up from the ground, to the surrounding area and the obvious damage. "So, what more can you tell me about this… war?"</p>
<p>"It's much as the Princess told you. The Ninth Kingdom of the Drules invaded, destroying our cities and villages. They captured and enslaved many of our people, killing far more, including our King." Coran said it quietly, dispassionately, simply listing the facts. It was… slightly easier that way. "The main invading forces left when they deemed the planet pacified, and a Drule governor was left in charge. We managed to overpower him and his personal forces, blackmailing him into sending regular reports. But he later escaped… and died."</p>
<p>Keith nodded slowly. "So, who is in charge now?"</p>
<p>"Princess Allura is in charge, at least in this region. There is no other central Drule authority figure on the planet… we are waiting for them to notice the lack of reports and come investigating." The advisor kept his tone muted. He was worried, but he knew they were doing all they could… which wasn’t much, admittedly.</p>
<p>"How long has it been since the last report?"</p>
<p>"A while. We received a transmission that someone would be coming to check on the planet if they hadn’t heard from the governor by the end of the lunar cycle." Coran paused, a weary edge taking hold in his tone. "Which ended a couple of days ago."</p>
<p>Keith shot him a worried look. The Princess had said they had reason to expect the Drules were returning, but it hadn't sounded <em>that</em> urgent. "Someone could be showing up very soon, then."</p>
<p>A worried sigh escaped Coran’s lips. "Yes."</p>
<p>"Do you have a plan?"</p>
<p>"Not a concrete one, I'm afraid. We are pretty much playing it by ear." Telling him that the <em>real</em> plan was reviving ancient magical robot lions wasn’t really an option. He wasn't qualified. That was a job for the princess… he sighed instead. "I’d hoped my days of worrying over war and violence were over when I retired." The naivete of <em>that</em> struck him as oddly amusing now. "But, apparently, that was not meant to be."</p>
<p>"Plans. They always seem to be forced to change when you least want them to be," Keith agreed, nodding sympathetically. "You’ve been lucky so far, as have we. If what the Princess said is true, if they come back in force, you’ll need everyone you can." He frowned. "I know my t—my friends—and I, we’re not going to go back willingly." How many Arusians had actually survived? They made it sound like the number was small. The team's stolen <em>Xaela</em> was not a large ship, but… "We could always try to evacuate you and the Princess, and as many others as possible."</p>
<p>"We will <em>not</em> leave our home." Coran's tone was probably a little sterner than it needed to be. The Earthling was only trying to offer assistance, but what he was offering was not an option. For many reasons.</p>
<p>Keith nodded, hearing the determination in the older man’s voice. He understood the sentiment. This was their home; all they’d ever known. "Understandable. I had to offer, though." He nodded towards Coran’s cane sword. "Nice weapon, by the way."</p>
<p>Smirk. "I find it very useful."</p>
<p>"Does it have good balance?"</p>
<p>Coran straightened; he hadn’t really needed to lean on the cane to begin with, but what was the point of a disguise if you didn’t embrace it? He unsheathed the slim sword, holding it out to the newcomer. He rarely, if ever allowed others the use of <em>his</em> sword, but his instincts told him this young man could be trusted with it. He rather liked the Earthling, he thought. And there was something familiar in the way he walked, and talked… Coran had a theory, and allowing him to test the sword out may just confirm it. "See for yourself."</p>
<p>Keith looked at the older man a moment, slightly taken aback by the level of trust he was showing him. With a nod, he took the sword, moving a few paces away and testing its weight in his hands. Then he held it out at arm’s length and gave it a few test swings. His eyes lit up; the balance was amazing. So much better than the stolen Drule sword he'd been using. He went through an abbreviated kata, then lowered the thin blade and returned it to Coran. "Very nice, sir."</p>
<p>That display had pretty much confirmed Coran's suspicions.<em>He is some sort of soldier.</em> Did that mean the others were? It would merit looking into further. For now, he slid the sword back into the cane. "Thank you. You seem to know what you’re doing with it."</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>. He more or less hid a nervous flinch. "I’ve—had some training. Had to put it into practice in the arena."</p>
<p>"You’re alive. Seems your training has done its job."</p>
<p>That earned him a halfhearted smile, as Keith's thoughts were dragged back to their losses again. "Not as much as I wish it had."</p>
<p>Nod. "I understand. As much as we would like to, we can’t save everyone." Coran sighed heavily and leaned on the cane again. "But we can try, and so the important part is that we <em>must</em> try."</p>
<p>That sounded… correct, Keith thought. Wise, at least. Shaking the pain away, he met the older man's eyes and tried for a better smile. "We stole a couple of Drule swords during our escape, but they're more showpieces than made for real fighting. If you happen to have any more of those lying around…" Roaring engines brought both of their attention back to the sky, and he trailed off.</p>
<p>Coran turned, seeing the ship coming in, and gave a small chuckle. "I will see what I can do about acquiring you a proper sword. I would hate to leave a fellow soldier without his preferred weapon."</p>
<p>
  <em>Fellow… what?!</em>
</p>
<p>"I should go see about arranging the meal the Princess offered. I'll see you in a bit, I trust."</p>
<p>Blinking in shock, Keith watched the royal advisor walk away.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Daniel had settled into a room, but not comfortably. His arm hurt. He'd been too active, and it was angry at him for it… which made him think about Jace. <em>Without him screaming at me I can't heal</em>. Nope, he didn't want to go there, he needed a distraction <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>Vince was similarly unhappy with his thoughts. All he seemed able to do was dwell on all the weirdness around him, wondering if it was all related. The sparks, the visions, and now <em>ghosts</em>. It seemed impossible for them not to be related, but what the heck kind of superpower lottery draw was that? He just wanted to stop thinking about it, he wanted his life to be <em>less weird</em>. Preferably not at <em>all </em>weird. He tried to shove it aside, think about something else… and his mind wandered right to his mothers. He sighed. That wasn't at <em>all</em> a helpful thought either, he was too emotionally exhausted to add homesickness to the mix.</p>
<p>Then a shout from down the hall caught his attention.</p>
<p>"Lizards!"</p>
<p>Daniel had yelled it right as the idea struck him. Alien lizards were around and he definitely needed to see one. They were in a crumbling castle, there <em>had</em> to be some hiding around the ruins. Instinctively his first thought was to find Cam and—he swore at his traitorous brain, then left his room and looked up and down the corridor. Vince's door was open. That would do.</p>
<p>"Hey Vince?"</p>
<p>"Yeah?" he asked, already wary from the shout. It really couldn't lead anywhere good, could it? But it was probably better than letting his brain, well… brain.</p>
<p>"Wanna go exploring and maybe find some alien lizards?" Daniel sounded almost pleading.</p>
<p>Vince sighed and nodded. He preferred rodents to reptiles, generally, but… "Why not? Lizards are cool."</p>
<p>"Lizards <em>are</em> cool! Mammals are overrated," Daniel declared and immediately started down the hall.</p>
<p>"Do you have a plan?" Vince asked as he followed him, then rolled his eyes at himself. Who was he talking to?</p>
<p>"Yeah. Walk around, find something cool. Preferably a lizard. I'd be cool with a frog though."</p>
<p>That was about what he'd expected.</p>
<p>Unbeknownst to the two of them, they had an eavesdropper. Larmina had been camped out in an alcove, one she'd used in the past to hide from Nanny and sulk. As they passed by her, she glared. Outsiders, here! She hated it, hadn't they just gotten the castle <em>back</em> from offworlders? Trusting different ones was <em>not</em> on her agenda. She groaned but couldn't help listening. Her Common wasn't the best, but her ears perked up—she knew one word…</p>
<p><em>Exploring</em>? Oh, hells no. Auntie may have invited them to stay, but explore? The castle didn't need that. She watched them walk away and realized she had no choice but to follow, so she jumped from the alcove, keeping a careful distance.</p>
<p>"So where do we go? Wonder if alien lizards are like earth lizards at all… not that I actually know what environments earth lizards like. Swampy or hot, right?"</p>
<p>Behind them, Larmina shook her head. They were looking for something specific? <em>What the hells is a 'lizard'?</em></p>
<p>"I've been thinking on this. The others were able to tell that it was a lizard, so it's got to at least look Earth-lizard-like. And they prefer moderate to hot environments, at least on earth. If they were to prefer a swampy environment that probably means they're amphibians, like salamanders—which are cool too, don't get me wrong. But this isn't Earth, so who knows."</p>
<p>"You know your lizards," Vince said, impressed, as he poked his foot around one of the many piles of rocks that littered the castle. It was depressing, and made him wish he'd seen it before the Drules made it crumble.</p>
<p>Daniel shrugged. "I like them." He was walking slower than normal, telling himself it was to not scare off any theoretical lizards; the truth was, he was attempting not to jostle his arm too much. There was no reason to make it worse.</p>
<p>Despite what he was telling himself, Vince noticed the reality. "Is your arm bugging you?"</p>
<p>"Yeah…" The thought of lying came and went, why bother. "A little. Think I've been using it too much. Apparently healing a <em>severe compound fracture</em> takes a lot of time." Who knew?</p>
<p>Larmina, listening behind them, picked up enough to gather one of them was injured. <em>Note to self, if it comes to that, punch that arm.</em></p>
<p>Much as Daniel tried to brush it off, Vince couldn't help but worry; it was what he did. Once again he was missing their medic. He tried to shake it off, and thought about suggesting he tell Lance, but… no, he knew that was pointless. "Maybe we should ask if they have a doctor here?" Arus had been holding out for a long time, they had to have someone.</p>
<p>Daniel hated that idea immediately. His doctor was Jace, and he hadn't even <em>wanted</em> to see <em>him</em>. Though as a practical matter—oh, screw that. "Probably." That didn't commit him to anything.</p>
<p>"Might help to ask that anyway," Vince muttered, his own thoughts drifting. He could guess at the source of Daniel's hesitation. "Not that I want to share with anyone new that I <em>spark."</em></p>
<p>"Yeah… though in comparison to hearing voices in your head, sparking doesn't seem that bad. Or seeing ghosts, I'm not getting over that one. Glad I never had a ouija board."</p>
<p><em>Weegee</em>? <em>What the hells is a weegee board</em>? Larmina narrowed her eyes, hating the strange outsiders more by the second. And Common.</p>
<p>"My moms were <em>very</em> anti ouija boards. They'd probably freak out about it if they knew…" Vince made a face, he hadn't meant to bring them up. That didn't <em>help</em>. He missed them too much, and maybe it was his inability to turn to them here that kept him dwelling on his other problems. "I just… GHOSTS! Like sparking and vis—" He shut his mouth with a <em>clack</em>, not ready yet to share anything about the visions with anyone else. He missed Flynn, too. <em>Why</em> was it the people he'd confided in who'd died?</p>
<p>Daniel hadn't missed the <em>vis—, </em>but since Vince wasn't pushing him about his arm, he wouldn't push him on whatever that meant. Plus he really didn't need anything else weird right now. So, he went with the easier response.</p>
<p>"My dad wouldn't have cared… about ouija boards or much of anything else." Oddly, it stung a bit to say; that hadn't happened in years. <em>What is this, emotionally torture Daniel day?</em> At least he wasn't seeing or hearing things that weren't there. "But ghosts are wiggy, I never wanted one."</p>
<p>"Definitely wiggy." Vince frowned as he looked around. "And now I keep wondering if one is gonna jump out in front of me."</p>
<p>"Yeah…" Daniel shivered. "Romelle didn't seem afraid, or even worried about them. So they probably can't actually do anything to you."</p>
<p>Larmina rolled her eyes as she followed them. That was cute, the offworlders missed their parents and were afraid of ghosts? They could fix that problem if they wanted to. By <em>leaving</em>.</p>
<p>"Hope not. Still don't believe she just <em>chatted</em> with one."</p>
<p>"Yeah, she's a little weird. Probably why we like her. Except Pidge…"</p>
<p>"Pidge doesn't like anyone."</p>
<p>"He likes you. And at least tolerates the rest of us."</p>
<p>"Maybe, but I'm fairly sure 'mechka' means 'idiot'… but he means it nicely, and maybe thinks I'm cute?"</p>
<p>Daniel paused and looked Vince up and down. "You are kind of cute."</p>
<p>Vince blushed at that but shook his head. "Not that kind of cute," he muttered, and thought about the animal Pidge had drawn him as an explanation. "More baby seal cute."</p>
<p>"You don't look like a baby seal," Daniel laughed.</p>
<p>"See, that's what I thought," Vince muttered, then looked around where they'd ended up. There was a broken door that opened up to what looked like a ramp. "That hall or whatever seems to go down, don't lizards like dark places?"</p>
<p>"Not really. They like the sun, and then shade when they get too hot, but what the hell. We're exploring right?"</p>
<p>Larmina frowned, her dislike deepening further. They surely weren't headed where she thought they were, were they?</p>
<p>"Oh, duh, that makes sense…" Vince felt a bit stupid, he knew how reptiles worked, he thought. "But yeah, exploring, Explorer Team right?" As usual when that was invoked, he regretted his decisions almost immediately. The sloping hallway led them down to a wide, dark corridor lined with doorways and deep alcoves, a few things that might have been burnt-out alien candles set into the walls. "I think we've stumbled onto creepy…" <em>Why is it </em>always <em>creepy or weird</em>?</p>
<p>"We always seem to be doing that," Daniel agreed, looking around too. Anything more he might have said was cut off by a shout.</p>
<p>They had, indeed, gone where Larmina had thought they were going, and she was not amused. "The tombs of the ancestors are <em>not</em> the place for offworlders to be goofing around!" Even she had more sense of propriety than <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Of course, her indignation was slightly defused by the fact that she'd yelled in Arusian; as the two Earthlings startled and turned to her, she realized they hadn't understood a word she'd said, and glared to get the point across</p>
<p>Vince had jumped and whipped around in a mild panic, while Daniel pulled his gun. They didn't really even need to see the glare to catch the anger in the words… an Arusian girl with fiery red hair and turquoise eyes was standing behind them.</p>
<p>"Hi… uh, not a ghost… uh, should we not be here?" Vince stammered, caught between wanting to be polite and definitely being scared. He was really just relieved it was a living person, glare or not. Beside him, Daniel lowered his gun and winced; his arm was unhappy with his abrupt spinning.</p>
<p>"Should not…" Larmina paused puzzled as to how to say it. Why? <em>Why</em> couldn't they just speak Arusian like civilized people? Paying attention to language tutoring had not seemed important at the time! "Should not. Crypts."</p>
<p>"CRYPTS!" Vince shouted, going right to <em>terrified</em>, and he whirled around fully expecting a horde of ghosts to pop out at him. When they didn't he breathed a sigh of relief… then felt instantly stupid.</p>
<p>"I feel like there should be signs," Daniel said flatly. He wasn't exactly frightened, but he wasn't thrilled either. "Something like, I dunno: Dead Bodies. Turn Around."</p>
<p>Larmina snorted. "Weren't invited."</p>
<p>Vince sighed, realizing they'd managed to piss off one of their hosts. Already. "Um, we'll gladly leave the crypts, Miss…?"</p>
<p>"Good. Leave."</p>
<p>"Hey, wait a damn minute. We were invited into the castle. How were we supposed to know this wasn't just a regular part of the castle?" Daniel snapped.</p>
<p>Again Vince sighed, wishing he was with Lance instead of Daniel. Lance was pretty good with angry strangers. For instance, he didn't try to just piss them off more.</p>
<p>Larmina was struggling with what Loud One had said. Was he asking if the crypts were part of the castle? Stupid language. Stupid offworlders. She covered her confusion by intensifying her glare; Scared One had said they would leave, but they <em>weren't leaving</em>.</p>
<p>"Honestly, we didn't mean to do something wrong, we were just looking for lizards?"</p>
<p>"Lizards?" Curiosity overrode her irritation for a second. She didn't know that word, and she did kind of wonder what these two thought they were trying to find. In the <em>crypts</em>.</p>
<p>"Uh, yeah, you know, lizards…" And now Vince found himself wishing Cam was here, or at least that the Academy had offered Arusian. He liked obscure planets, he might've taken it himself. "Um, mini dragons?" Oh yeah, that was gonna help.</p>
<p>"Reptiles. Like snakes with legs." Daniel ignored his own pang for Cam; if he pretended it hadn't happened, he could keep telling himself he didn't miss him.</p>
<p>Larmina shook her head, that wasn't working. Looking around, she had a flash of inspiration and pointed at a dusty shelf. "Picture."</p>
<p>Vince looked at Daniel; he was the artist. The gunner frowned slightly. "I don't have a picture," he muttered, pulling a pencil from one of his pockets. "But I could draw it."</p>
<p>"Really, you have a <em>pencil?"</em> Vince stared at it. "Just with you?"</p>
<p>"Of course I do?"</p>
<p>Larmina gave them her best <em>are-you-idiots</em> glare, then used her finger to draw an angry face in the dust. How had <em>that</em> not been clear? <em>Offworlders!</em></p>
<p>Vince sighed at that. "We're not making a good impression here. Hasn't Lance taught you any charm?"</p>
<p>Now it was Daniel's turn to glare. "He says it can't be taught. Only learned. Or something stupid like that." He went to the shelf and drew a lizard in the dust, then pointed between himself and Angry Redhead. "I can already tell that you and me are going to be the <em>best</em> of friends."</p>
<p>Larmina rolled her eyes at that, but brightened as she recognized his drawing. "Nyraha!" They had successful communication! Sort of.</p>
<p>Vince was shaking his head at Daniel—nothing new there—but turned at her shout. "Nyraha?" he repeated. "That sounds nicer than lizard." It got him another indignant look from his fellow explorer, who was certain lizards didn't need that slander.</p>
<p>There were plenty of nyraha in the forest. Larmina knew that, she'd seen them. But no way she was taking them <em>there</em>… unless it was to get them eaten by banewolves, which Auntie definitely wouldn't be okay with. "Not lizards here," she informed them coolly, waving around the crypt. "Dead ancestors."</p>
<p>"And we're back to glaring…"</p>
<p>Vince looked warily around, afraid the dead ancestors might make an appearance, but tried to appease her anyway. "We really meant no harm."</p>
<p>"Yeah, we didn't come here looking for dead ancestors, <em>believe me</em>." Daniel could practically feel Lance giving him that trademark <em>behave</em> nudge, and made a face as he realized he should maybe try being polite. "So anyway, I'm Daniel. What's your name?"</p>
<p>"…Yes, what is your name?" Sudden politeness was <em>suspicious</em>, but also probably a good idea. "I'm Vince."</p>
<p>Inwardly, Larmina sighed. But if she had to put up with them, actual names were more convenient than just calling them Loud One and Scared One. "I… my? I?" She hated Common. And she hated these offworlders even more, because after this she was for damn sure going to turn around and go attempt to <em>study</em> it. "Am Larmina."</p>
<p>"Hi, Larmina."</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you, Larmina," Daniel somehow managed to say after a deep breath. It was <em>not</em> nice to meet her, and really fuck Lance for making him be nice.</p>
<p>"Anenyo… Hello. Still leave crypts."</p>
<p>Not that Vince thought Daniel had meant his <em>nice to meet you</em>, and Larmina hadn't even tried. He decided to just try to solve the immediate problem. "Lead the way and we'll leave the crypts."</p>
<p>Larmina turned at that, but spitefully threw out, "Should careful. Lizards bite." She'd never actually heard of the local lizards biting anything, but surely these annoying explorers would want to be <em>very careful</em>.</p>
<p>"Apparently so do you," Daniel shot back.</p>
<p>"We were <em>in her crypts—</em>"</p>
<p>"Usually break arms," Larmina said with a smirk.</p>
<p>"—Orrr she's the Arusian Pidge." Vince grimaced. That was just their luck.</p>
<p>Larmina wondered if this Pidge they kept mentioning might be okay, if he really didn't like the other offworlders. No, probably not.</p>
<p>In any case, Daniel definitely did not need a broken arm; he waved his existing injury at her. "Already got one of those."</p>
<p>"Dude, don't hurt yourself."</p>
<p>"Break again for you," Larmina offered, though she knew Auntie wouldn't approve of that either.</p>
<p>Daniel flipped her off and smirked at Vince. "You worried about me?" All it got him was a groan.</p>
<p>Larmina was insufficiently offended by the gesture, having no idea what it meant, so she just moved on. She was pointedly leading them to a door that did <em>not</em> lead to the forest. "Might lizards out there."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Larmina." Vince was still desperately trying to get along.</p>
<p>"Enjoy breaking peoples' arms, and have fun in the cavern of dead people," Daniel added cheerfully, destroying Vince's hope.</p>
<p>"Good lucking! Hope you bit by many cool lizards," Larmina said with equal cheer.</p>
<p><em>Know what,</em> Vince decided, <em>I can't hear them.</em></p>
<p>Daniel gave her a big smile until she was well out of earshot and then muttered, "I hope we find Voltron and get the fuck out of here fast."</p>
<p>"Me too," Vince said, missing home and a bit angry at himself for thinking he'd find answers here. All he'd gotten was something new to add to all the weird, and he was pretty well over it.</p>
<p>Maybe lizards would help.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Despite the Drule conquest, the Meadows of Raimon were as lush and beautiful as the ancient tales had always claimed. Romelle found herself standing at the window—just slightly cracked—staring out at the fields with mixed awe and discomfort.</p>
<p>"I still can't believe I'm here," she murmured to her reflection. "And in their <em>castle</em>. The first in centuries." Previous attempts at diplomacy had almost always been held on neutral ground. In other circumstances, she might have felt far more honored.</p>
<p>Not that she was exactly here as an attempt at diplomacy… she'd barely had that thought when a knock at the door startled her, and she whirled to see the Arusian princess standing in the doorway.</p>
<p>"Is this room to your liking?" She'd started to ask it halfway through knocking; by the time the question was complete, Romelle was staring at her wide-eyed with a hand on her weapon's hilt. Allura winced slightly. "Sorry if I startled you." She didn't think the anger in the other woman's eyes was only from being startled, truthfully. But there was no reason to bring that to the surface. Not yet. In her time.</p>
<p>Slowly, Romelle moved her hand away from the gaive'llar and nodded curtly. "It's fine."</p>
<p>That sounded less than convincing, but Allura gave a small sigh of relief nonetheless. "That's good." Before any other concerns, she did want her guests to be as comfortable as she could make them. That was only polite. As for the rest, well… okay, so it wasn't going to be comfortable for either of them. "If I may," she said quietly, "I notice that you seem to be from Pollux?"</p>
<p>Her voice didn't hold the scorn Romelle might have expected; her own made up for it. "There is no 'seem to be' about it. I am from Pollux." She switched from Common to Arusian as she said it. No sense doing otherwise now.</p>
<p>"Ah, that's good." It was a fine balancing act. The people of Pollux were known to be prickly, though it probably didn't help that most Arusians knew them as 'the abandoners', or worse, 'the betrayers'. Allura wasn't here to relitigate the old conflicts. She only wanted to save her planet <em>now</em>. "There was something I've been wondering, if I might ask you a question? Though I can understand if you aren't able to answer it."</p>
<p>Of course she had questions. Romelle leaned back against the windowsill and studied the other princess coolly. She was not here to represent her people, nor to answer for them in anything. "What is it?"</p>
<p>Allura took a deep breath. "Is it possible you've come here with something from ancient times? Something of importance?"</p>
<p>…<em>What? </em>Romelle's expression darkened. It wasn't the question she'd expected; it was somehow almost worse. "No." She fought to keep her tone even. "I was on Korrinoth for months. I left there with nothing but a blade and what little I was wearing."</p>
<p><em>For months?</em> "Wh… what were you doing there?" she gasped softly, then retreated a step at the look of blistering hatred Romelle turned on her. "Maybe it's best I not know…"</p>
<p>"It's not your business," the Polluxian hissed.</p>
<p>"Forgive my rudeness," she covered quickly, falling back to try to defuse the situation. "I just had thought that…" An icy trickle of doubt accompanied the words. She'd been so hopeful, but it seemed the answers would still be denied to her. "…perhaps something I've been searching for might be with you."</p>
<p>Romelle had been trying to be polite—she was a guest—hell, she was pretty much a refugee at this point—but her resolve only went so far. And with that it went right to hell.</p>
<p>"Why would I have anything for <em>you?"</em> she scoffed, dropping her hand to her gaive'llar again. "I've given enough for you! I was on Korrinoth to be unwillingly wed to their Crown Prince, because <em>your</em> planet got conquered and my father feared we would be next!"</p>
<p><em>What?</em> Allura stared at her in shock, trying to fumble through all the implications of that at once. Who was this woman, exactly? Pollux had joined the Drules? Because of what? Was she seriously blaming <em>Arus</em> for this? "We didn't ask to be attacked." She kept her tone even, though a warning chill had entered it. "We could hardly even react, they struck too suddenly. I am sorry you've suffered, but—"</p>
<p>"—Didn't you have an army?" Romelle interrupted, eyes burning. "Defenses? Hell, even <em>we</em> have that!" <em>For all the good it did us…</em></p>
<p>"I think you can guess what happened to our armies." Allura bristled, forcing her own temper down. She'd known Polluxians were said to be spiteful; she hadn't been prepared for this degree. As much as she might have wanted to point out all Arus had been through recently, everything <em>she'd</em> lost, she couldn't afford to right now. "They used treachery to compromise our defenses, and our counterattacks were all overwhelmed. What more would you have had us do?"</p>
<p>She gave a very unladylike snort. "That's all? What of the reason we were exiled?"</p>
<p>"What—exiled?" Allura blinked, the indignation and doubt replaced by new confusion. The House of Lachesis and its followers had not been exiled, at least not that she'd ever heard. They had abandoned Arus in its darkest hour… darkest until now. "Didn't you leave on your own?"</p>
<p>Romelle snorted. Of course the Arusians had told themselves that. So simple. So childish. "We had no choice but to flee, because of what your people insisted on doing with that damned robot."</p>
<p>…That damned <em>what?</em> Allura's eyes widened, and she focused in on the other woman more sharply. "What robot?" Did she know something after all? But the lions… they were robotic creatures, yes, but singular?</p>
<p>"Really? We were forced away because you insisted on hiding it, and now you've <em>forgotten</em> about it?"</p>
<p><em>Forgotten…</em> Allura looked away a moment, brushing a lock of hair from her face and nervously nipping at her knuckle—that was an old habit Nanny had painstakingly broken her of, but with her nerves where they were <em>now</em>, it hardly even registered. Could it be? "I don't understand what you're referring to. Tell me." <em>Tell me it's what I've been searching for. Tell me it's the answer we need…</em></p>
<p>"Voltron!" Romelle spat. "The robotic knight, the Lord of Lions! You all <em>insisted</em> on hiding it from the Galra—we told you not to, we told you it would only come back to hurt Arus someday! But you wouldn't listen, so we left. And then you ended up with Drules instead of Galra, and your damn precious Voltron couldn't even save you!"</p>
<p><em>Voltron</em>.</p>
<p>Allura went deathly silent. She knew that word… no. She'd heard that word before, but she didn't <em>know</em> it. The rest of Romelle's rant—her rage, her accusations, the Lord of Lions, what was a Galra?—all seemed to simply crash over her like a wave. There, but not. She was caught up on the <em>word</em>.</p>
<p>"Vol… tron?"</p>
<p>Romelle's lip curled. "You really don't remember."</p>
<p>"Voltron is a name?" No, they didn't remember. Admitting it in so many words did not seem likely to defuse the situation any, but… "What is it? Is there more you can tell me?"</p>
<p>Part of Romelle had no interest in saying another damn word. Part of her wanted to hold her knowledge over this silly little Arusian's head—that their distant cousins were every bit as foolish and naive as Pollux believed. And part of her felt it was best to answer the questions… because the sooner they found Voltron, by whatever means, the sooner the Earthlings could take it and they could all get <em>off</em> of this damned planet.</p>
<p>"Voltron is a name," she confirmed, managing to keep all but a touch of the sneer from her tone. "A robotic knight, said to take the form of a lion. Your people should have washed your hands of it centuries ago." Then a question of her own sprang up, somewhat unbidden. "If you've forgotten Voltron, what in the hells were you talking about out on the stairs?" What hope did she <em>think</em> she had, if it wasn't their precious knight?</p>
<p><em>Is this it? The key?</em> "We do have robotic lions," she said quietly. "But the Great Lions are…" As if she could actually explain them with any authority. "They are… something different." <em>Have we been outright missing one, somehow? A Lord of the Lions?</em> No, that still didn't feel right. There was something else out there… she had one more piece of the puzzle, a key piece, but one yet remained… "I don't know of any lion knight named Voltron."</p>
<p>Oh. Of course. More than <em>one</em> hidden weapon they hadn't used to defend themselves. "Why didn't your damned Great Lions save you, then?!"</p>
<p>Allura flinched and lowered her eyes. <em>Yes. That's the question.</em> It still hurt badly. The thought that if they just could have found the answers sooner, her people could have been saved… "They can't help anyone right now," she said softly. "We've been searching for a way to wake them up. All we have are clues buried in ancient poems and fairy tales, but—"</p>
<p>"—Fairy tales?" Romelle interrupted, her expression darkening even further. "So while we were exiled, you all forgot nearly everything about the robot you wanted to keep so badly, then got yourselves conquered, forcing <em>me</em> to be humiliated and raped by your conquerors. And now you're here playing with <em>fairy tales</em>. Wonderful."</p>
<p>…<em>Oh, Honored Mother</em>. Allura shuddered. She hadn't realized it was <em>that</em> bad. She tried to dredge up some indignation—there was still no justice in blaming Arus for that ordeal!—but all she found was sorrow and pity. Romelle's bitterness <em>was</em> rooted in far more than the history of their people. And if perhaps misdirected, her anger couldn't be brushed aside.</p>
<p>
  <em>But she's here now. If the Great Lions do not fly again, she's in as much trouble as any of us. If not more.</em>
</p>
<p>But she <em>had</em> given her something.</p>
<p>
  <em>Voltron…</em>
</p>
<p>Allura nodded quietly to herself. She had to go. But she couldn't just walk away without addressing what loomed between them, either. So she took a deep breath, steeling herself.</p>
<p>"Lady Romelle… I know our people have not gotten along for centuries. If I could alter that past, I would; if I could change your fate on Korrinoth, I would do it without hesitation. I've lost a great deal as well… my brother, my father, too many of my people…" She shook her head. "All I can offer you is my sympathy and a place of shelter. And for now, I'll leave you be."</p>
<p>Romelle had started to snarl a mocking response to that, but something in Allura's tone cut it off. She <em>was</em> standing in the ruined Castle of Lions, she'd seen what had come of this planet… "Thank you," she finally said curtly. Whether for the sympathy, or for leaving her alone, she didn't care to specify.</p>
<p>She wasn't sure she knew.</p>
<p><em>Arusians</em>.</p>
<p>As Romelle turned back to the window, Allura left the room; she didn't go far. She'd brought the journal where she kept the most crucial clues, in case Romelle did indeed have answers for her. Now she stopped in the hallway, leaning against the wall, flipping it open to a later page.</p>
<p>To that word.</p>
<p>The fragmented page Coran had once brought her was pasted into the journal: the burnt edges, the smudged and faded ink, a rough fold through the middle. The uncertain translation was on the opposite page. Several words were crossed out and corrected, and several phrases were marked as uncertain. The old tongue was often ambiguous, especially when the words weren't all there.</p>
<p>…<em>(stood by) trees pondering the lines in the leaves. (Beside) Yellow took in the sun. Red made (the dash) at Blue, but try as they may could not catch them. How fair the day was, a chance (at some) fun. Upon the hill Black stood watch as always</em>—here the fold had cut through and obscured the ink, a sentence or two lost—<em>leaped to their (feet) and cried out, "Brothers, Sisters, across the sparkling sea (we must be)!" Our merriment shortened, we (dropped) to heed the call. As one we roar, then we voltron (to them)…</em></p>
<p><em>We voltron to them</em>. It had been a curiosity. A small oddity, a quirk of the translation—something to keep an eye out for in other sources, not something to dwell on. But now?</p>
<p>
  <em>Voltron is a name.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We Voltron…</em>
</p>
<p>A name made no sense there. But the grammar could be different. The 'to them' was unclear. It had seemed like the most obvious interpretation, when the context had assumed the word Voltron to be an action. Now, perhaps not. <em>We… Voltron…</em> she looked at her free hand, her fingers flexing with frustration as she thought.</p>
<p>A moment's intuition hit her.</p>
<p>Five fingers. Five lions. <em>We Voltron.</em> She watched her hand and her eyes widened. <em>We…</em> she spread her fingers out. <em>Voltron…</em> she drew her fingers back together, then looked back at the words. Another viable translation…</p>
<p>"We <em>become</em> Voltron," she whispered, and a shudder ran through her. It felt <em>right</em>. But what <em>was</em> Voltron, then? A knight? The Lord of Lions? None of it was an <em>answer</em>. And yet she felt herself trembling from the certainty. This revelation was a key, if only she knew which mystery to fit it into.</p>
<p>
  <em>You really don't remember.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We become Voltron.</em>
</p>
<p>"Oh, Great Lion of Storms… what have we forgotten?"</p>
<p>She heard the low rumble of thunder, Black Lion's reassuring purr in the back of her mind. And when he spoke, his voice was stronger than ever.</p>
<p>
  <em>"We will remember."</em>
</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Nanny was supposed to be safe in the castle shelter. She was supposed to be helping the elders, keeping the peace, ensuring things ran smoothly. And she'd been doing that… but the Princess was in the castle. And the Princess was the one sworn charge she had left, and may the Honored Mother smite her unworthy soul if she failed to live up to that charge!</p>
<p>So she was climbing the stairs up from the tunnels. The <em>many</em> stairs. It always felt like there were so many more stairs going up than there were going down. By the time she reached the trapdoor she was well out of breath; the Honored Mother surely couldn't fault her for taking a few moments to rest. She would be no good to her charge if she were exhausted, after all.</p>
<p>Nanny was not the only person approaching the castle entryway. Lance had meandered back from the guest wing; there wasn't much there of note. There wasn't much here of note, either, but his mind was running in a million directions at once and if he at least kept <em>himself</em> walking, maybe he would keep those thoughts from running in the one place he really didn't want them…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Thoughts in one's head never fly far."</em>
</p>
<p>He groaned. The voice may have been warm, the warmth may have been comforting, but then it came along and did shit like <em>that</em> and he could really do without it. Though, having someone to talk to—was the mysterious voice that might be a robot lion really a 'someone'?—might also help.</p>
<p><em>Since you're here, does the Princess know anything about Voltron?</em> She'd sure seemed to.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Hmm, does she?"</em>
</p>
<p>Oh for… <em>I asked the question!</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"To avoid what truly troubles you."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance groaned again, rather more emphatically, and busied himself looking around the entryway. The huge staircase was still… well, <em>magnificent</em> was a good enough word, even with the damage. He couldn't believe he was in a damn castle, of all things. And when he thought that, he wanted to think of something else, and he swatted it away with all his might.</p>
<p>Somehow, he was certain the warmth in his mind rolled its eyes. But before it could say anything, a very unlikely rescuer appeared.</p>
<p>As she came up through the trapdoor and rounded the corner, Nanny yelped in shock as she found herself looking at a <em>man</em>. An <em>alien</em> man! He was unkempt, wearing clothes surely unfit for any respectable home of nobility—he wasn't a Drule, which she supposed was one small point in his favor—but nonetheless, what was an <em>alien man</em> doing in her castle? Standing there so <em>disrespectfully</em>, no less?</p>
<p>Fumbling in her apron pocket for her paring knife, she guessed at a language—he clearly was no more insectoid than he was Drule. "You!" she snapped in her haughtiest Common English, pointing the knife at him. "Explain yourself, hooligan!"</p>
<p>…<em>Hooligan?</em></p>
<p>The yelp had spun Lance around to face her; the yelling had mostly just confused him. The plump older woman glaring at him didn't look all that intimidating, knife or no, and she had just called him a <em>hooligan</em>. "Hello," he said with a winning smile, raising his hands. "I'm Lance."</p>
<p>Nanny sputtered a moment; she was certain that didn't explain anything. She was too flustered to get the exact words she wanted, though. "That's no excuse!"</p>
<p>Oddly, it wasn't the first time Lance had been told that in his life. He generally considered it a pretty good excuse, but that was neither here nor there… he tried a toothier grin, older ladies seemed to appreciate the pearly whites. "Well, it's a long story. We landed here, you sent a scouting party, we've just met Princess Allura…"</p>
<p>She looked more scandalized than appreciative. "That's Her Highness to you!"</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>. His smile didn't waver, though it took a little effort. "Of course, I apologize. Her Highness. Oddly she's my second princess, but I haven't met much royalty otherwise." Was politeness the trick here? He could totally do politeness. "It's lovely to meet you, too. What's your name?"</p>
<p>The way he kept smiling at her was so… infuriating! Disrespectful! Charming! No. No, not that last one. "I am Lady Nandara Hys, the royal governess and First Matron of the Castle of Lions staff." She shifted the knife into a more proper defensive grip and huffed. "Do you have a full name, Mister Lance?"</p>
<p>…The amount of disdain she'd packed into that question was actually kind of impressive. Lance still wasn't overly intimidated, but a knife was a knife, and getting stabbed and bleeding all over the ruined castle seemed like it would be rude. He took a calculated risk and bowed. "My full name is Lance Charles McClain, Lady Nandara."</p>
<p>She huffed again. "That would be Lady Hys, Mr. McClain." But she did give a short bow, which seemed like a plus; the way her eyes narrowed was less of one. "Now, what <em>precisely</em> did you mean by saying Her Highness is <em>your</em> second Princess?"</p>
<p>Talking to this woman was like walking through a minefield. An extremely formal minefield. Which was an amusing thought he really shouldn't laugh at right now; he could totally see Hunk dressing a bunch of land mines in little tuxes and evening gowns, given the chance. "Lady Hys, I apologize, that was just bad wording on my part. It's just that I met Princess Romelle recently as well…"</p>
<p>"…Who?" Nanny was familiar with all the major royal families of Arus, and she'd never heard of a Romelle. "I do think you're <em>lying</em> to me."</p>
<p>"What? No, of course I wouldn't do that. She came with us, she's…" Well she certainly wasn't here with him, that was for sure. Probably back in her new room. Maybe sleeping? He didn't even know how long he'd been out here brooding. "…around somewhere," he finished with a little less confidence.</p>
<p>Less confidence was definitely warranted. "Around somewhere?" Lady Hys repeated, scowling. "Just how many of you <em>strangers</em> are wandering about my castle?"</p>
<p>When there was no castle staff to keep the place running, was it really <em>her</em> castle? More than it was some <em>alien's</em>, at least.</p>
<p>"I assure you we wouldn't wander about where we're not wanted," he answered quickly, flashing another of his most charming smiles: Charming Grin Number Eighteen, to be precise. <em>Daniel, don't make me a liar…</em> "There are eight of us, the Pr—uh, Her Highness gave us rooms."</p>
<p>"Eight." The woman stared, then stabbed an accusatory finger at him. Better than the knife, he supposed. "What do you mean there are eight of you, you… you… you are a <em>hooligan!"</em></p>
<p>"He's actually a human."</p>
<p>Lady Hys jumped up and shrieked; Lance startled, then sighed as he registered who'd just spoken. <em>Great. Pidge.</em> That was just what this situation needed. "I apologize, again. He likes to pop up."</p>
<p>"Don't listen to him." Pidge had heard enough of the conversation to be certain he didn't like this woman at all. <em>Who cares </em>this <em>much about manners</em>? "I'm not sorry."</p>
<p>"AND JUST WHO ARE YOU, you… you…" Nanny blinked as her eyes fell on the new alien. She was not a tall woman, but he was shorter; she wasn't used to that. "…Little hooligan child?"</p>
<p>"I'm not a child," he shot back, "and <em>I'm</em> not a hooligan, either. I'm a Baltan." He couldn't actually argue with 'little', but those other two had been uncalled for.</p>
<p>Sometimes, Lance really didn't know about Grumpy Ninja. Okay, most times. "Pidge," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "we are <em>guests</em> of Lady Hys…" <em>She's tougher than a Sorthal cat, but I was getting things under control a little bit!</em></p>
<p>Of course Pidge was having none of it. "I didn't ask to be a guest of anyone."</p>
<p>"Well, we are." Almost despite himself, he turned to the only other… well, presence… present. <em>Don't suppose </em>you <em>have any suggestions?</em></p>
<p><em>"Beware royal governesses,"</em> the voice answered without hesitation.</p>
<p>
  <em>Seriously.</em>
</p>
<p>Nanny, meanwhile, had noticed that the little hooligan child was also holding a knife. One that looked significantly more dangerous than hers. Discretion was the better part of propriety, and she took a step back before speaking again. "And do you have a name?"</p>
<p>"Pidge."</p>
<p>Sigh. "A <em>full</em> name, Mr. Pidge?" Looking between the two strangers, she couldn't help but give a disapproving <em>harrumph</em>. "It's as if you were both raised by roli herders."</p>
<p>"Pidge, tell her your full name," Lance ordered, just to be sure. It got him a resentful look.</p>
<p>Then the ninja <em>smirked.</em></p>
<p>On the rare occasions that a Baltan officially emigrated, it was traditional to adopt a new name, and he had. But nothing said they actually had to <em>disavow</em> the old one. So he turned back to Lady Hys and gave a formal bow. "Tazikyra ken Sazashi Hiroshi respectfully reporting, ma'am." For the first time in his life, he'd have appreciated having another honorname or two… or twelve. Oh well.</p>
<p>From the look on her face, she definitely regretted asking. Mission accomplished. Lance was giving him a slightly confused look too; bonus!</p>
<p><em>That is a fucking Baltan mouthful</em>. Looking at Lady Hys as her expression shifted, Lance had to reluctantly admit he couldn't win this one over. He <em>hated</em> that, but it did happen… very, very rarely.</p>
<p>Nanny was privately acknowledging defeat as well, at least for the moment. She was not going to get an acceptable explanation from <em>these two</em>, clearly; she needed to find the Princess. "I'm sure we are most honored by your presence, Mr. McClain and Mr… Pidge." She bowed again, stiffly. "I must take my leave now. Do BEHAVE YOURSELVES."</p>
<p>"We wouldn't do anything else," Lance assured her, and made a face. <em>Why do I always sound sarcastic when I promise to behave?</em></p>
<p>"Hmph." Whether that meant Lady Hys also thought he sounded sarcastic, or was just her usual response to that sort of thing, he didn't know… though he could guess. Either way, she stormed off, leaving him alone with the ninja in the entryway.</p>
<p>"I nearly had her!"</p>
<p>"…I thought I took care of her nicely."</p>
<p>"Ninja, she's going to go complain about us."</p>
<p>Shrug. "Who doesn't?"</p>
<p>That… that… Lance stared at him and sighed, that was actually perfectly on-brand. "Yeah, well, we're <em>in their castle.</em> Manners can't hurt."</p>
<p>"Manners," Pidge snorted. He'd just watched Lance have an entire conversation with that woman where no useful information was exchanged because she was too busy worrying about <em>manners</em>. Manners were stupid.</p>
<p><em>Flynn would not approve</em>—he shoved that down.</p>
<p>"We need to get along with them, Pidge." He sat back on the stairs and looked around. "Unless we want to get kicked out of the castle, and I'm pretty sure we need to be here."</p>
<p>"Yessir."</p>
<p>Sighing, Lance looked up at the ceiling. There had been intricate tiling up there once; about half of it remained. "Before she came out of nowhere I kept thinking about that, you know? We're in a fucking <em>castle</em>, it's hard to believe it's even real. Flynn would…"</p>
<p>He froze.</p>
<p>…<em>Not approve?</em> Pidge thought darkly, though he was quite certain he was the only person here using <em>that</em> as a mantra. "Yes" he said, muted. "He would be intrigued, sir."</p>
<p>Lance swallowed hard, closing his eyes. The thought he'd been fighting down so hard, and there it had just come flying right out despite it all. But maybe… Pidge had been close to him. Maybe if he talked about it a little the thought would <em>go away</em>. "Probably hate that it's rubble," he said quietly. "He'd want to rebuild it…"</p>
<p>That struck Pidge as unlikely. The castle was just rocks. More to the point, though, he was <em>not</em> going to have this damned conversation. "He's not here," he said coldly. "Theoreticals about what he'd be thinking won't change that." <em>I ought to know.</em></p>
<p>Anger shot through Lance's chest, the grief turning white-hot in response to the frigid words. "You think I don't fucking <em>know</em> he's not here?!"</p>
<p>"I guess you do, since you're <em>whining</em> about <em>manners</em> like he did."</p>
<p>Oh fuck no he didn't. "He was fucking trying to help you!" Lance had heard <em>plenty</em> on that topic. "He gave—he spent—" No. He forced himself to bite that back.</p>
<p>Too late.</p>
<p>It had all been building, shoved into a corner of Pidge's mind. Quietly. Everything was unmoored. Bringing Romelle aboard, Hunk's constant poking at him, Vince's discomfort with his vigilance. The damned sunlight—the reminder that no matter how hard he tried, <em>something</em> would prevent him from fitting in with the humans, from being useful to them. And the constant reminder that others had died for them to be here…</p>
<p>That someone had died for him, specifically, to be here…</p>
<p>It all snapped. He didn't <em>belong</em> here. He knew it as well as anyone else. "I know," he spat, "you'd rather have him than me."</p>
<p><em>You're damn right I would</em>—the thought was a momentary flash through his mind, a reflex he couldn't quite suppress, even from himself. He couldn't say that out loud. Wait, had the ninja <em>actually</em> just said that out loud? "What?"</p>
<p>Pidge took a step back, his mind seething. <em>Useless. Can't do manners. Just getting in the way. Interrupting when they're doing fine, thinking you're helping. Can't even go out in the fucking sunlight. Failure is betrayal, and you…</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"What are you afraid of?"</em>
</p>
<p>They stared at each other. Lance was furious, he was confused, he was jumping between the two and couldn't get any words to come out of his mouth. Pidge was reeling from frustration, and from the voice in his head, one that might have been the unwelcome growl but might have been a memory…</p>
<p>"…Go back to whatever the hell you were doing," he whispered. "I won't bother you anymore." He had to get out of here. His presence was unhelpful. It was never helpful. He was just an unwelcome reminder.</p>
<p><em>What?</em> "Ninja…" <em>Fuck</em>. Lance stood, not sure what to say, still too angry for reassurance and too confused for…</p>
<p>Pidge turned and walked away. But he couldn't maintain that. It was too calm. Before he was even out of the entry hall he'd broken into a desperate sprint, vanishing into the darkness.</p>
<p>"…Wait," Lance breathed, far too late, and kicked the nearest wall in frustration. <em>Way to let him down</em>.</p>
<p>He ignored the warmth as it curled around him. He wasn't in the damn mood now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Pull Back the Veil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>We become Voltron.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We will remember.</em>
</p>
<p>Allura's mind was still racing, churning through the words and everything she'd learned over the last few hours. The world seemed to have turned upside-down—in a good way, she thought, but even <em>so</em>. Sitting on her bed, she felt her nerves finally starting to calm a little. Dinner would be soon—she had to be ready to guide the newcomers. To nudge them. To resist the urge to just tell them everything she knew, and—</p>
<p>"—Princess!"</p>
<p>The urgent voice shattered her concentration and she jumped, whirling towards the door. "What is it, Nanny?" The Drules? They couldn't be here, not now. Not so close! No, Nanny wouldn't be the one to bring her that news…</p>
<p>"What is going <em>on!"</em> the governess demanded, and Allura grimaced. "There are—there are strange men—there are <em>alien men</em> in the castle!"</p>
<p>"Yes… I'm aware." This was certainly not how she'd have chosen to have <em>this</em> conversation.</p>
<p>Nanny huffed; she'd rather been hoping that leather-clad hooligan had been lying. "They said they are your guests!"</p>
<p>That wasn't even a question; it was an objection in disguise. "I've foreseen their arrival," she said quietly. A <em>slight</em> overstatement, but the mysticism of the Crown was an ally here. "And I believe they will help to save Arus, so yes. They are my guests."</p>
<p>Blink. "Save…" Everything about it was absurd. "But Your Highness—offworlders? And such <em>disrespectful</em> offworlders?" She scoffed. "Alien hooligans are going to save us?"</p>
<p>Every so often, Allura had to remind herself that she truly did love her governess. Lady Hys <em>meant</em> well. She was just… rather… inflexible. "I'm sure their manners may not be what you prefer," she acknowledged. Really she'd not spent enough time with the Earthlings to have a read on their <em>politeness</em>, but their formality had certainly been lacking. It didn't bother her. "But I believe they may have helpful skills and knowledge for us."</p>
<p>Nanny opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again, sighing in frustration. It wasn't her place—she was a governess, what did she know about defending the planet? She could acknowledge that. "I'm certain you know best, of course, Your Highness. They simply…" She shuddered. To have to rely on people like <em>that</em> was just another shame Arus was forced to bear. On which subject, "They said they have a <em>princess</em> with them."</p>
<p><em>A princess?</em> Allura's eyes widened. "So she's that high ranking? She did say…" She'd been sent to be wed to the Drules' Crown Prince. Of <em>course</em> she would be a princess. <em>That could mean… oh, dear</em>. Just how bad were things on Pollux?</p>
<p>Though she'd failed to really answer, what response she'd made had been enough. "…Surely they do not <em>actually</em> have a princess with them?" Nanny looked horror-stricken. "We must—we're in no shape for an audience with—we have to—"</p>
<p>"—I believe she'll be content to go without all the pomp and ceremony."</p>
<p>To actually interrupt <em>Lady Hys</em> of all people was a calculated risk, but she hadn't been at her most coherent right then. And her shock was great enough that she actually let it slide, still sputtering at the revelation. "But what of the name of Arus, if we can't properly receive nobility?"</p>
<p>Allura sighed. She was quite certain that Arus, in its current condition, didn't need to worry about <em>that</em>. Pointing it out was probably not useful. "Based on what she's told me, she has gone through a great ordeal before arriving here. I have the impression she'd prefer to simply be invisible for now."</p>
<p>That brought Nanny's better nature forward; she wrung her hands in her apron. A princess who'd been through a great ordeal? And no surprise, being with these <em>Earthlings</em>. "Is there anything I can offer to make her more comfortable? If that is your will, of course."</p>
<p>"Yes. I want no harm to come to her here… she is from Pollux. And if my suspicions are correct, based on what she's told me, they're in as much trouble as we are."</p>
<p>Nanny dropped her apron. "What." For the first time the princess allowed a bit of her annoyance to show; she offered her best <em>you heard me</em> look rather than a proper answer. The lack of decorum might have scandalized the governess more, but her protective instincts were overwhelming even propriety. "A Polluxian? Here, in the castle? And you believed her?!"</p>
<p>"Yes." Allura kept her tone cool and calm. "I felt no lie in her voice."</p>
<p>"But—a <em>Polluxian!</em> This is why Captain Sarial was called up from the shelters so swiftly? You have her under guard?"</p>
<p><em>Enough.</em> Even if Romelle's intentions <em>were</em> malevolent—and Allura couldn't help but doubt they were—she was far from the greatest threat facing Arus right now. "Nanny, please. I sense no danger from her, and we do not need any more fights. I need you not to start one."</p>
<p>…There was that. She huffed, but bowed her head in acceptance. <em>If I could handle Lady Larmina… sort of… I can handle this—these hooligans with a hooligan princess! </em>"As you command, Your Highness."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Nanny." Allura smiled.</p>
<p>"I trust you will ask my assistance if the h—" she coughed and wrung her hands in her apron again, "—the guests require anything I can provide? Or perhaps you would prefer I mind the tunnels while you are busy?" It was very clear she'd prefer the latter.</p>
<p>Frankly, Allura would prefer the latter too. She was <em>certainly</em> not about to tell Nanny she was soon to join the newcomers for dinner. And she didn't intend to confront Romelle about being a princess there, either; there was surely a reason she hadn't said it. "Yes, keep things running smoothly in the tunnels, please. I will call upon you if I need you."</p>
<p>"I shall take my leave then, Highness." The governess hesitated a moment, giving her another look of worry. "Do be careful, <em>please</em>."</p>
<p>"I will, I promise. With all of the training you've given me." She watched as Nanny departed, and sighed. It was hard not to worry about <em>that</em>, but she had faith things would improve. Once the Great Lions awakened, the tensions would fade. She had to trust in that.</p>
<p>Knowing nothing about any Great Lions, Nanny could only invoke a different name as she headed back for the tunnels. "Aliens and Polluxians roaming the castle," she murmured, shaking her head in frustration and concern. "Honored Mother have mercy!"</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>It had taken exactly three and a half seconds for Pidge to realize he'd made a mistake. He'd bolted from the castle… into the sunlight.</p>
<p>Not optimal.</p>
<p>Well he sure as hell wasn't going back into the castle after he'd <em>just</em> run away from it, so… looking around, he saw the forest to the west, and ran for it. It was relatively close, thankfully—it would've been closer, were it not for the Drules. He had to pick his way through a strip of charred wasteland before reaching the shelter of the trees.</p>
<p>Finally, slipping into the shadows, he breathed. It might have been for the first time since they'd reached Arus. It might have been for the first time since they'd left Earth. The surroundings were almost familiar, almost comfortable. How many times growing up had he escaped into the forest around Salithra, searching for solitude when everything seemed to be closing in around him?</p>
<p>Things weren't closing in here. They were almost too open. It wasn't really an improvement. At least the trees wouldn't judge him, or worse, <em>abandon</em> him. Probably. They might find a way, like everything else seemed to—</p>
<p>—<em>Stop feeling sorry for yourself.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>And what else do you have to do, exactly?</em>
</p>
<p>Scowling at his own thoughts, he leaned back against the nearest tree. He immediately regretted the move—the bark scraped through the cut in his suit, raking the sunburn, sending pain stabbing through him.</p>
<p><em>You deserve it</em>.</p>
<p>It wasn't the pain, in itself. It was the reminder. Of exactly why he was so adrift here, the same reminder that Lance had stabbed right into his guts.</p>
<p>
  <em>I told him not to do anything stupid. I told him to take care of himself!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You were careless and arrogant, as usual. You should've been protecting him.</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge closed his eyes and shook his head violently, trying to silence the recriminations. Voices that <em>were</em> his own in his head weren't always that much better than voices that weren't.</p>
<p>What would Flynn say if he could see him now? He wouldn't be impressed, that was for damn sure. He would demand to know why he was abandoning the others. Wouldn't he?</p>
<p>…No. He'd do worse.</p>
<p>
  <em>He would ask what you're afraid of.</em>
</p>
<p>At that thought, he could hear it. That infuriating question. And he…</p>
<p>"I was afraid of <em>this!"</em> he screamed into the silence of the forest, hearing a startled flutter of wings somewhere overhead. "I was afraid of <em>exactly this,</em> goddamn you! I was afraid of failing again! Like always!" He slammed his fists back into the tree, barely noticing the blood as the bark ripped his knuckles open. "And where the hell did believing in me get you, you idiot?!"</p>
<p>The ice hit his stomach almost the moment he finished screaming. He'd been pressing forward on rage, and releasing it left him with… what? The one human he'd understood was gone, and his attempts to cling to duty to recover just felt…</p>
<p>Hollow. Yes, that was the word.</p>
<p>Pidge slid down the tree trunk, drawing his knees to his chest and burying his head in his arms. It didn't matter anymore. He was spent. For the first time since the arena he surrendered to the churning in his guts, dissolving into tears. May as well succumb to it.</p>
<p>Eventually, he drifted into sleep.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Hunk felt certain—reasonably certain, anyway—that Explorer Teams did not usually have meals with princesses. Of course they'd gotten used to that on the <em>Falcon</em>, but now they were in an actual <em>castle</em>, and that was a whole 'nother level of <em>not in Kansas anymore</em>.</p>
<p>Showing up empty-handed would be rude, no question… so he'd fried up the last of their fauxtatoes. Nothing said diplomacy like waffle fries, one of humanity's finest achievements! Pity he didn't have the supplies for pizzadillas, they'd have this thing locked down.</p>
<p>The team was grouped in the entryway at the foot of the huge staircase, waiting. The presence of waffle fries had several stomachs growling, though a few of their thoughts were elsewhere entirely. Daniel was sulking about yet another failed lizard hunt—these things were mocking him, weren't they? Vince was just hoping this dinner wouldn't involve ghosts. And Lance…</p>
<p>Well…</p>
<p>"Where's Pidge?" Keith asked, sweeping his gaze over the team.</p>
<p>It said something about Pidge's usual habits that hardly anyone had even noticed—or, more to the point, they would've sworn he was standing <em>right there</em> until Keith spoke up to ask about it. But he was certainly not standing either right there or anywhere else; Hunk blinked. "Ninja?" He gave a low whistle. "Here ninja!" Like <em>that</em> was going to work.</p>
<p>There was a distinct lack of Pidge popping up to snarl at him, and Lance grimaced. "Fuck…"</p>
<p>"What'd you do?" Daniel asked immediately.</p>
<p>"I <em>didn't</em>—I mean, not really."</p>
<p>The kid just stared at him, lifting his eyebrows slightly. "That's what I say when I've definitely done something."</p>
<p>Groaning, their pilot took a step back and shrugged helplessly. "Pidge and I might have had a bit of an… altercation?" <em>Okay, it was flat out a Dumb Fucking Something.</em></p>
<p>Hunk gave a small frown, then matched his shrug. "Someone that wasn't me this time, cool." Next to him, Vince wondered if an 'altercation' was like a 'misunderstanding'. It sounded more serious.</p>
<p>Maybe that was why they didn't have a ninja right now.</p>
<p>"What kind of altercation?" Keith asked with a resigned sigh. <em>I'd really hoped we were past altercations.</em></p>
<p>"We, well, uh…" Lance really didn't want to answer that. Mostly he didn't want to bring up what they'd been talking <em>about</em>, but he didn't have much choice. "I brought up Flynn, and he said something and I got angry and he ran off."</p>
<p>Truthfully he hadn't expected the running off to be a long-term thing. What the hell?</p>
<p>Though they may have been lacking a ninja, the team did have <em>some</em> unseen company. Namely, Larmina, who had also been invited to dinner and was watching from another ruined alcove. She couldn't follow the entire conversation, but she'd successfully gathered that the aliens were missing someone, and didn't even know how it had happened.</p>
<p><em>Oh, yeah, </em>they're <em>gonna save the plane</em>t.</p>
<p>Daniel knew he shouldn't say what he wanted to say, but he could only behave for so long. "Does this mean I get to lecture <em>you</em> on thinking before you speak?" It got him a glare, but nothing else; Lance was feeling too guilty to actually object.</p>
<p>"Damn it." Wincing, Keith shook his head and turned to the doors. This was not what they needed. "We need to go find him."</p>
<p>"How? He's a ninja?"</p>
<p>"You <em>ever</em> tried lookin' for him, boss?" Hunk paused as he said it; the growl welled up in the back of his mind, and it felt somehow comforting. Which was a first. <em>You people abductin' ninjas now?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"You cubs possess much stubbornness."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>That wasn't a no!</em></p>
<p>Sven heard his own growl too, and sighed; it felt reassuring, but he'd also been enjoying having silence in his own head. "They're right. We're not going to find him unless he wants to be found."</p>
<p>"Yeah… I thought he'd be around by now… we should find him." Lance shook his head in frustration, and the voice murmured in his mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Too much grief."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Shut up.</em>
</p>
<p>Keith looked around, frowning. The strange, purring growl was running through him. "It may not be easy, but he's honest to a fault. If we get in hearing distance I'm sure he'd come to us…"</p>
<p>Nobody else was nearly so sure. But the conversation was silenced as Princess Allura and Coran arrived.</p>
<p>Hunk was the first to see them; he was facing the doorway they'd used. "Heya, Your Princessness! And uhh, Your Advisorness!" Was it possible to hear a mysterious growl in your head do a facepalm? Because his had definitely done so.</p>
<p>Still crouched in the shadows, Larmina found herself appreciating the… rotund one? Not that she was about to admit it. She still didn't trust these things.</p>
<p>Lance appreciated it too, and nodded to the Arusians. "Princess. Mustache Dude."</p>
<p>Keith really <em>did</em> facepalm. Sven winced, though he was amused; all he did was nod a greeting. What was the point in being formal <em>now?</em></p>
<p>As if on cue, Daniel flashed a peace sign. "Yo." He appreciated the distraction; he'd been feeling a little guilty for poking at Lance like that, but apologies weren't his strong point.</p>
<p>"Hello." Vince felt incredibly boring and couldn't have been happier about it.</p>
<p>Allura chuckled—now <em>extremely</em> glad she hadn't told Nanny about this plan—and a mildly bewildered Coran smiled but said nothing. Maybe he spoke the language, but a great many of Common's <em>nuances</em> were lost on him. He was best leaving this to the Princess, who at least had some idea what she was hoping to gain from these strangers…</p>
<p>"Forgive us, Princess." Keith fought down the reflex to salute, giving a formal bow instead. "We… have a missing crewmate." <em>Yeah, sure. </em>That's <em>why your team is weird.</em> "We should go and find him before—"</p>
<p>"—Again," Lance interrupted, "I raise, how?" <em>Because I would love to, but…</em></p>
<p>The Princess didn't seem concerned by that, just cocking her head curiously… Keith blinked, feeling the static dart through him. Then she gave a small nod. "There's no need for concern, there are eyes on him. He seems to have wandered… but if there is any worry, I'll know."</p>
<p><em>That</em> shut everyone up. The team stared at her in confusion, and finally Hunk ventured, "Ninja ain't nothin' <em>but</em> worry, Princess." Vince nodded emphatically.</p>
<p>"He was pretty upset," Lance said hesitantly. "Are you sure?"</p>
<p>Allura nodded, and he found himself swayed by her confidence—no, it wasn't just confidence. Serenity. She <em>knew</em> something. "He is safe, I promise you."</p>
<p>Any further discussion on the topic—such as Hunk badly wanting to ask about that abduction that the rocky voice <em>had not denied</em>—was cut off as Daniel looked around the room. He'd been trying to get a grasp of everyone else's reactions to whatever wiggy thing the princess was doing. But instead he found himself staring at Larmina, who'd stepped out of her hiding place when the others arrived and was standing behind the group looking grumpy.</p>
<p>"It's the mean one," he whispered to Vince, who followed his gaze and blinked.</p>
<p><em>Huh</em>. So it was… "Be nice," he whispered. This didn't seem like the time or place for a scene.</p>
<p>That was his opinion. His opinion was about to not matter at all. Because Romelle noticed the two of them, and turned to see who was standing behind her, and Larmina narrowed her eyes in distrust at the female Earthling—</p>
<p>—<em>Wait, that's not an Earthling!</em></p>
<p>"What are <em>you</em> supposed to be?" she blurted in Arusian to the not-exactly-<em>not</em>-Arusian in front of her.</p>
<p>Romelle startled a little, then her eyes narrowed. "A person. Like you?"</p>
<p>"I don't <em>think</em> so." Whatever she was, <em>like you</em> wasn't part of the equation. Larmina had been through too much over the last few months—never mind the <em>rest</em> of her life—to be interested in that sort of platitude.</p>
<p>"Be careful, Romelle." Daniel couldn't understand the conversation being held, but the expressions and the tone told him enough. "Apparently she likes to break arms."</p>
<p>Vince made a face and shook his head. <em>She really </em>is <em>the Arusian Pidge.</em></p>
<p>Noting the warning, Romelle looked over the young Arusian more carefully. Much as she'd have liked to snarl back, she was acutely aware of her position here… but she also noticed the redhead sweeping a glare around the entire room. "My name is Romelle. And you are?"</p>
<p>Allura sighed and decided she ought to step in. In Common, since the Earthlings were thoroughly confused by now. "She is my niece, Lady Larmina Elena Altair of the Seven Isles." At least she could take some solace in the original question; clearly Larmina didn't know about Pollux. This wouldn't be a repeat of Nanny, just her being her usual open and friendly self. "I am glad you could join us, Larmina."</p>
<p>"I'm not," she muttered.</p>
<p><em>Redheads, always feisty</em>, Lance mused with a small chuckle, and immediately regretted it. <em>Don't think about him.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"And yet you do."</em>
</p>
<p><em>I said shut up.</em> The guilt from the <em>last</em> time he had was still going nowhere.</p>
<p>Looking between the Princess and the… Lady…? Vince almost had to fight down a laugh. Of course she was. Of <em>course</em> she was.</p>
<p>Daniel's thoughts were obviously going the same direction, based on his expression of horror. "Oh great, she's <em>royal,"</em> he whispered. "They're gonna expect me to be <em>nice</em> to her." Vince patted his shoulder in sympathy.</p>
<p>Romelle frowned more deeply, stepping back and turning away. There was no point pressing this issue. Before anyone else could try, Hunk jumped in.</p>
<p>"So hey, uh, dinner? Wanna try some waffle fries?" He gave his biggest grin and held out the plate he'd brought.</p>
<p>Both Larmina and Allura eyed him; even Coran tilted his head in some interest. They looked good and smelled good… "No," Larmina said flatly.</p>
<p>"They do look interesting," Allura countered. "I, for one, look forward to trying them. Come, while we may not have much to offer, I hope it will also be to your liking."</p>
<p>She led them past the staircase through one of the side doors, into what had once been a dining room for the castle staff. In better days receiving guests there would have been scandalous, but it was the most intact of any such room in the castle. A small but respectable selection of preserved meat, cave-grown vegetables, and what was known by the refugees as 'tunnel wine'—fruit juice that had slightly fermented in the supply caches—had been laid out. In the old days, this would hardly have qualified as a snack, let alone a diplomatic dinner, either. But now it was what they had…</p>
<p>The group spread out and picked their seats, with Romelle staying as far from the Arusians as she possibly could without actually leaving the room. Daniel sat across from her; he also wanted to keep his distance from the angry royal chick who liked breaking arms. On the flip side, Keith took a seat near their hosts, and Hunk tugged Vince over to sit next to him—no ninja to keep an eye on. He set the plate of waffle fries down between something meat-looking and something green and fluffy.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Princess." Keith was impressed by the spread they'd managed to put out, though he could tell just from the size of the table that it was sparse by pre-Drule standards. "I know you probably don't have much… we appreciate it."</p>
<p>She nodded in acknowledgment. "We have learned to get by." Especially now that spring was bringing game animals back from their dens, nobody in the castle shelter was in immediate danger of starvation. But it was day to day, and nothing was promised. "Please, enjoy."</p>
<p>Enjoyment under the circumstances felt almost laughable, but it was food and they were all hungry. And it wasn't half bad, for a planet half in ruins—Vince for one had been afraid there might be mushrooms. Anything but <em>mushrooms</em>.</p>
<p>Allura found herself amused and impressed by the waffle fries. <em>These are a lot better than I thought they could be</em>. Coran seemed to appreciate them as well, and she even caught Larmina sneaking one. Maybe the Earthlings could offer them more than just military assistance.</p>
<p>Still feeling guilty, especially now that he could look around the whole table and easily take note of their missing ninja, Lance decided to try getting a rise out of Daniel. He was fumbling a bit with his utensils—Arusian dinnerware was easily recognizable in function, but it wasn't quite the same as Earth. "Hey, hey. Attempt table manners."</p>
<p>Glare. <em>I was being so well behaved!</em> He hadn't flipped off the angry royal chick again or anything! "I've never wanted to start a food fight more in my life."</p>
<p>"Please don't start a fight with it." Vince was doing his best not to eat too fast, because manners were important, but having <em>real food</em> was just so exciting. "I want to eat it."</p>
<p>"Yes, please," Sven agreed, then looked to Allura and Coran. "This is wonderful."</p>
<p>Though the navigator's admonishment only counted so much in Daniel's mind, Vince got a bit more consideration. "Fine." Snort. "Manners."</p>
<p>And now he sounded exactly like Pidge, and now Lance's guilt surged right back. But that wasn't lost on the gunner either… he was proud to say his Lance-reading skills were improving, thank you very much. And the whole utensil issue offered a good distraction. "Hey," he gave the pilot a poke, "my arm's been killing me since we got here. We have any more wraps on the ship?"</p>
<p>Admitting pain was not his favorite thing, but if it worked…</p>
<p>It totally worked. "What? Yeah, I think so. We can check it out after we eat, I mean…" The conversation had gotten Allura's attention. "Princess, do you have any doctors or anything around here?"</p>
<p>Doctors they had, but looking at the younger Earthling, Allura wondered if she might be able to fix it on her own. It would certainly not be <em>proper</em> to leave a guest in pain while he ate… among plenty of other reasons. "Let me have a look. What's the matter?"</p>
<p>Well <em>that</em> hadn't been what Daniel was planning on at all. He shrank back a little as she approached; princess or not, he wasn't real convinced he wanted to just let some rando look at his arm. It wasn't that bad! He'd just been trying to—</p>
<p>"—Let her look," Lance told him, and wondered why he'd said it. Maybe it was the warmth that curled around him again… "Uh, it got fractured awhile ago. Drule medics set it, but…"</p>
<p>Nodding, Allura studied the arm as Daniel reluctantly held it out. It just looked swollen… she touched his shoulder and his elbow, trying to sense what she could. She'd never actually attempted to use her abilities on a non-Arusian like this. Yet it seemed to be working. "Mmm… it is healing, but you must have aggravated it somewhat."</p>
<p>All attention was on her now, but only Lance and Daniel really had an angle to see exactly what was going on… which was that the golden markings on the princess' cheeks had taken on a faint glow, and blue sparks had appeared deep within her pupils—or had those blue patches always been there? They might have been. Either way, they sure as hell hadn't been <em>glowing</em> before now. "Uh…"</p>
<p>"I wonder…" It would be nice to actually be able to help someone, even in a small way. Even in the tunnels, she'd largely been limited to diagnosing, and sneaking in what small relief she could. Concentrating now, she focused on the aura of pain surrounding the Earthling's injury, and willed it to disperse.</p>
<p>Daniel's eyes widened as the pain just seemed to… <em>recede</em>. As best he could tell, the swelling wasn't going down, but it didn't hurt anymore. It took all he has not to yank his arm back—that would be stupid, he wanted to feel better, but <em>what the fuck—</em></p>
<p>"Uh." Lance's eyes were just as wide. "It helping?" He didn't receive an answer. The kid was just sitting there with his mouth open, trying his very best to process <em>glowy eyes</em> and <em>magic healing</em> as things he now needed to deal with.</p>
<p>As if she'd done nothing strange at all, the princess stepped back. "I hope that helped… if not, I can see about finding someone else to do better. My abilities have their limits, I fear."</p>
<p>Limits! To glowy-eyed healing magic? "My, uh, my arm doesn't hurt anymore," Daniel finally managed to stammer. "My brain does, though."</p>
<p>Lance snorted. "There's a big difference there, kid. <em>Thank you</em>, Princess." <em>I should be way more freaked out by that level of WEIRD, but</em>…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Strong instincts. Will bring you far."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My acceptance of weirdness is an instinct now?</em>
</p>
<p>"You're welcome," Allura said with a smile, returning to her seat. She was pretty certain the comment about his brain hurting wasn't something she could remedy.</p>
<p>The others were still gawking… well, mostly. Romelle was accustomed to small displays of mysticism, and Vince was resolutely ignoring any more freaky magic until his stomach was full. Sven finally looked away and shook it off; if he could handle a voice in his head, he could handle a princess with healing powers.</p>
<p><em>"Of course you can,"</em> the voice agreed, and he barely suppressed rolling his eyes.</p>
<p>Hunk had paused halfway through a bite of green-fuzzy-whatever and was not recovering. Was the food some kind of crazy drug? That was the only explanation for—</p>
<p>
  <em>"—You have seen powers you do not comprehend before. Why do you still disbelieve?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Are you gonna tell me you're friends with sandstone bats now, too?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"The earth spans many realms."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh, no. Absolutely not. He was not even <em>asking</em> what that meant.</p>
<p>Keith had watched carefully, and now glanced over at Coran and Larmina. Neither of them looked at all surprised, though the young redhead seemed annoyed… well, more annoyed. He considered that for a minute, then nodded. It was still his duty to look after his team, as best he could. And that demonstration gave credibility to what the princess had said earlier.</p>
<p>"So, Princess. You said you had eyes on our missing crewmate?"</p>
<p>Allura nodded.</p>
<p>"…How?" Hunk asked, getting a look of agreement from Lance. "He's a <em>ninja?"</em></p>
<p>"He's not in any danger, is he? Or injured?"</p>
<p>"No, not at all. He seems quite well taken care of."</p>
<p><em>That sounds like she can see him</em>. Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly. He was still wigged out by the healing—after magic bats, robeasts, ghosts, and voices, it was the magic healing that had finally snapped him—and this was not okay. "So wait, you can heal people <em>and</em> you've got the ability to magically see ninjas?" Nope. He wasn't buying it. Too much weird.</p>
<p><em>So much for manners…</em> "Kid has a point," Lance agreed, and Hunk nodded. Even Sven was watching with calculated interest now.</p>
<p>Larmina knew about half of the words being thrown around; Allura knew most of them, though the one she was unclear on seemed important. "I, myself, cannot see… whatever a 'ninja' is. But," she smiled reassuringly and gave her ears a little wiggle, "I can hear those who know where your friend is."</p>
<p>Now she had Vince's attention too. <em>Did her ears just wiggle</em>. That was way more interesting than yet another round of weird. Actually Vince was just about the only one who was paying attention to that; Romelle was resolutely ignoring everything, Daniel was still trying to process, and the others…</p>
<p><em>She's talkin' about you, isn't she?</em> Hunk demanded. <em>ISN'T SHE?!</em> He'd have thought that was obvious enough to finally get a straight answer, just <em>one</em>, but the only response was an infuriating purr.</p>
<p><em>Would the Princess be referring to you?</em> Sven's significantly more polite question did not get any more of an answer, only a growling chuckle. He was really over that sound.</p>
<p><em>You?</em> Lance had nearly choked on a waffle fry, and all the damn voice in his head responded with was amusement. He rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Of course," Daniel muttered under his breath, looking around at the others. It didn't take much to guess what was going on there. "All the new weird ties into the old weird. Too many weirds connecting to other weirds."</p>
<p>"Think I'm just as happy if all the weird is part of the same weird… probably."</p>
<p>"A narrow field of weird beats a big field of weird."</p>
<p>"This whole place is weird."</p>
<p>As the Earthlings reeled, Allura happily bit into a waffle fry. They really were good.</p>
<p>That was it. Sven was over <em>all of this</em>. "Princess, you said this place was called the Castle of Lions? It's an interesting name, where did it come from?" Romelle shot him a sullen look at that, one he couldn't completely read. It probably didn't matter, though—they needed information. "The faster we find them, the faster we can leave," he hissed under his breath; she blushed and nodded, returning her attention to her plate.</p>
<p>Others were more approving. "Good Viking," Lance whispered, while Hunk gave a small chuckle.</p>
<p><em>Jace would totally be proud</em>.</p>
<p>"Ah." Allura fought not to show her eagerness. Now they might be getting somewhere. "An old tale, or several. It was said, long ago, that the Great Lions would meet in the field near the castle to discuss their adventures, and to relay word of any problems that may have crossed their paths."</p>
<p>Now they <em>were</em> getting somewhere. "The Great Lions?"</p>
<p>"There were five of them," the princess explained, leaning forward in her seat and focusing on the tale. "The noble Lion of Storms, the fierce Lion of Flame, the daring Lion of Wind, the graceful Lion of Water, and the mighty Lion of Earth."</p>
<p>"Storms," Keith whispered, feeling the static dance over his skin.</p>
<p><em>Don't even dare say the Lion of Flame isn't YOU</em>, Lance accused the voice in his mind, and it burst into laughter as warmth flooded through him.</p>
<p><em>Now she's </em>definitely <em>talkin' about you, </em>Hunk thought, and was greeted with similar laughter. He was pretty over this, too. <em>Don't let it go to your head, yeah? Or at least keep it out of mine.</em></p>
<p><em>Lion of Water. That would be you, wouldn't it?</em> Sven didn't really need an answer; it felt too right not to be. <em>Please no more chuckling</em>. It did not chuckle, exactly… it did growl in amusement, which wasn't much better. <em>You are an </em>infuriating <em>being.</em></p>
<p>The annoyance of several of the Earthlings was mirrored in one Arusian—Larmina understood, in theory, why these strangers were so readily being told things she'd only just learned. It didn't make it sting less. <em>Really, Auntie?</em> As if sensing her discomfort, Allura turned and gave her a small, reassuring nod before continuing.</p>
<p>"Each of the Great Lions had their own home, but this is where they would gather to speak and sometimes play. Save for the Lion of Storms, who always stood guard."</p>
<p>"Play?" Lance echoed. He couldn't imagine the gruff, fiery voice in his head <em>playing</em>. It felt too ancient, too powerful.</p>
<p>"Sounds right," Hunk grumbled. The earth lion—because it was sure as hell the earth lion—was sure as hell playing with <em>him</em>.</p>
<p>Sven leaned forward himself, glancing at Keith for approval. Not that disapproval would <em>stop</em> him right now, but it was good for one's commander to have one's back. "That's an interesting tale. Is there any truth to it?"</p>
<p>The princess nodded. "There are many forms of these tales. Many children's tales, others not. The Great Lions were thought to be the defenders of Arus once… but most tales end with them fast asleep. Or occasionally there are more grim endings, but the Castle of Lions stands in their honor nonetheless."</p>
<p>"Asleep?" Lance repeated, feeling his own intuition sparking. <em>That feels true.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Quite."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>Was that an answer?!</em> But the voice, the Lion of Flame, said nothing else.</p>
<p>Sven frowned. Sleep felt correct to him too, but they needed every bit of information he could get. They'd gotten very far on myth and rumor during this search for Voltron, and he wasn't about to leave anything unasked <em>now</em>. And his lion—HIS lion? It felt right—seemed to approve of his questioning. "How do the other versions end?"</p>
<p>Larmina laughed harshly, getting a slightly reproachful look from Allura. It didn't stop her from speaking. "Sacrificed to Golden Gods."</p>
<p>Pain shot through Hunk's skull; he lurched forward with a gasp. The damn lion had <em>roared</em>. Loudly. Too loud even for <em>him</em>, which he wouldn't have thought possible. <em>CAN YOU NOT?!</em></p>
<p><em>"That name…" </em>The words faded in a fog of confusion and rage.</p>
<p>Angry growls filled the minds of the others as well, though their voices—their lions—showed a bit more restraint. Sven managed a polite smile. "I think I prefer the other version."</p>
<p>Shrugging, Larmina snorted derisively and looked away. She preferred a lot of things that weren't true, too.</p>
<p>Lance felt unsettled, and he couldn't actually tell if it was his own instincts or the voice. It was like they were coming together, meeting in a way that felt right and all wrong at the same time…</p>
<p>"You okay?" Daniel poked him.</p>
<p>"…Not even close."</p>
<p>The kid had seen that answer coming; he tossed a waffle fry at him. "Better?"</p>
<p>Smirking, Lance caught the fry and ate it, though he made a point of not saying it was better. He wasn't sure what would qualify as better at this point. Instead he turned back to Allura, frowning slightly. "Sacrificed?"</p>
<p>The princess sighed heavily. "While I have heard that version, I've never cared for it. I prefer tales with some hope for a happy ending…"</p>
<p>"Hope is good," Hunk agreed, perhaps a little too quickly. "I like hope." Hope aside, he felt like they could be pretty damn sure the lions had not been <em>sacrificed</em> to anyone, but it felt like he shouldn't say so out loud.</p>
<p>Romelle and Larmina both snorted; Larmina immediately sat back and pretended she hadn't when she realized Romelle had done so, and Romelle rolled her eyes in response.</p>
<p>"Hope is a double-edged sword," Sven mused, then smiled faintly. "I don't like swords, but thankfully our leader does." Keith blushed and glanced at Coran, who looked amused.</p>
<p>"Hope is stupid," Daniel mumbled under his breath. Lance nudged him, but didn't say anything; he was usually all for hope, but he was way too off balance right now.</p>
<p>What he was certain about—what they were all certain about—was that as soon as dinner was over, they were going to need a serious <em>talk</em>.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>There was a certain irony to gathering on the <em>Falcon</em> to be sure they weren't being watched. Pidge was the one who'd first brought that up, and here they were with no Pidge. Lance was attempting to pace off his guilt, which—</p>
<p>"—Yo! Han Solo! Keith is the one who's supposed to pace around with a look of constipation on his face, not <em>you</em>."</p>
<p>He turned to Daniel, who was flopped on the floor with a couch cushion, and gave a weak smile. "So I'm doing a good impression?"</p>
<p>As if on cue, Keith walked in, shaking his head slightly as he saw Lance doing his pacing for him. "Alright. So… any sign of Pidge when you all came in?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Nothing."</p>
<p>Great. "Well, he's capable of taking care of himself; we have to trust in his abilities. I want your thoughts on our new… acquaintances."</p>
<p>Lance frowned at that, but couldn't argue the truth of it; he stopped pacing and went to lean against the wall next to Sven. He had thoughts, alright, but putting them into <em>words</em> was going to be easier said than done. Romelle, leaning against the opposite wall, snorted derisively. She had thoughts too, but they weren't what Keith was asking about.</p>
<p>"The Princess seems nice," Vince offered into the sudden awkward silence.</p>
<p>"Everything's weird and redhead's a bitch," Daniel declared.</p>
<p>"Redhead—I mean—Lady Larmina <em>did</em> see us wandering around her crypts."</p>
<p>"You wh…" Hunk trailed off. "Of course you did." Poor Vince seemed to get dragged into an awful lot of bad ideas lately, even for an Explorer Team.</p>
<p>Lance gave a long-suffering sigh. "I knew I was lying to that Nandara person."</p>
<p>"Wait, what?" Keith looked between them and wondered if he actually wanted to know.</p>
<p>Daniel wasn't listening, because he wasn't done. "Lady my ass. She admitted to enjoying breaking people's arms. I even tried being nice! I was polite and everything!" He poked Vince's leg; the engineer was sitting on the arm of the nearest couch. "You saw! I tried!"</p>
<p>"He did try to be nice. You know, for him…" Daniel eyed him and felt like he probably <em>should</em> be insulted, but he wasn't.</p>
<p>"Excellent, kid." Lance wondered if it had gone as well as his own Arusian encounter. He'd nearly forgotten, given what had come after. "I met a Lady Nandara Hys. She thinks I'm a hooligan. Which, fair, except that this isn't Earth and it's not the 1950s, <em>hooligan?"</em></p>
<p>Hunk burst out laughing.</p>
<p>"Oh boy." Keith rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered, yet again, how they'd ended up in this mess. This <em>entire</em> mess. "Alright, we can't worry about that right now." Nothing to be done for Lance's hooliganism, that was for sure. "I think Coran knows we're soldiers."</p>
<p>That sent a wave of worry around the room. "Why is that?"</p>
<p>"And <em>how?"</em> Especially in their current state, it seemed far from obvious.</p>
<p>The commander shook his head. "When you were bringing in the ship, he let me test out his sword. I asked if he had anything better than this," he held up the ceremonial Drule sword with a look of disdain, "and he said he'd try to find me one… would hate to see a fellow soldier without a preferred weapon."</p>
<p>Oh. Daniel smirked. "That sounds like he made <em>you</em> as a soldier."</p>
<p>"He is the most obvious."</p>
<p>"You do seem kinda soldier-y, boss."</p>
<p>…All of that was true. "Damn me for being Commander Crystal Spur, huh?" he grumbled under his breath.</p>
<p>"If this was a police procedural we'd never send you undercover." Lance grinned. "But I knew Mustache Dude seemed sharp."</p>
<p>"He is," Sven agreed, "and if he knows Keith is a soldier, he's sure to try to discern if the rest of us are as well."</p>
<p>Both the remaining 'kids' snorted. "Well he won't make <em>me</em>. The whole reason I'm here is that I'm not soldier-y enough."</p>
<p>"He won't figure me out."</p>
<p>Lance snickered. "Yeah, let's throw him Vince and Daniel, that'll really confuse him."</p>
<p><em>Don't think </em>throwing <em>anyone at the dude is gonna help</em>. Hunk decided not to say that out loud, in favor of something slightly more useful. "Maybe it won't matter, yeah? I told Captain Sarial my job's to blow things up, she seemed okay with it."</p>
<p>"She did?"</p>
<p>"She took it very well," Sven confirmed, and Lance couldn't help a small grin.</p>
<p>"These Arusians seem alright."</p>
<p>"They're weird," Daniel grumbled. "And mean."</p>
<p>Keith cleared his throat. "There's another issue here. If he's made us all, or really any of us as soldiers… we know the Drules are going to come back. If they ask us to help them fight?"</p>
<p>"Then we fight, Keith." Lance gave Commander Crystal Spur a look of disbelief. "We help them fight, how is that even a question?"</p>
<p>Though he didn't necessarily like it, Daniel found himself in agreement. "They're weird, but we can't just say no if they actually ask for help, can we?"</p>
<p>"No, we can't." Sven heard the growl in his mind and didn't object; at least it wasn't <em>chuckling</em> at him this time.</p>
<p>Hunk looked around at the others and shook his head slightly. He wasn't sure helping fight, themselves, was the real issue. "Maybe we oughta find 'em these lions… and go home without 'em." A disapproving growl filled his head, and he shook it off. <em>I didn't ask your opinion.</em></p>
<p>Lance looked over at him. Now that <em>was</em> a question… a pretty damn good one.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Would you truly leave?"</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>Huh?</em> He frowned at the voice. That wasn't the issue, of course they would be leaving here sooner or later. It was just a matter of what they left with, and what shape they left the planet in. Wasn't it?</p>
<p>Wouldn't they…?</p>
<p>Though it had been his suggestion, Hunk was also aware of the problem with it. A problem they had whether or not they planned to take Voltron away, really. "There's <em>five</em> lions, though." He paused, making a face. "And mine is <em>totally</em> the earth one, and he's a jerk."</p>
<p>
  <em>"You know I can hear you."</em>
</p>
<p>"Yeah," Lance agreed as Hunk rolled his eyes. "Five… mine is fire, I kind of like him."</p>
<p>"Storm," Keith said quietly. "The one that growls at me is storm."</p>
<p>"Mine is water," Sven chimed in.</p>
<p>That left wind. Nobody spoke for a moment, then Romelle exhaled slowly. "It honestly seems like you all know more about Voltron than they do."</p>
<p>"The Princess seemed to know something."</p>
<p>Something, perhaps. "Fairy tales. They've forgotten most…" <em>They've even forgotten the damned name!</em> She still wasn't sure where multiple lions played into this, but it wasn't her chief priority.</p>
<p>Lance looked away, trying to make it all make sense. Fairy tales? Allura had said many of the tales were children's stories. She'd spoken of hope, assured them Pidge was… in sight? They knew where he was? But did that mean…?</p>
<p>Before he could finish putting that together, Hunk asked quietly, "Think the princess talks to the wind lion? Cuz…"</p>
<p>…That <em>would</em> make sense. Way more sense than his own half-formed thought. "Yeah, could be." Yet it didn't <em>feel</em> like the right path to pursue. "Romelle, what do you mean they've forgotten?"</p>
<p>"It's not encouraging, whatever it means," Daniel muttered. That wasn't wrong.</p>
<p>Romelle sighed; she didn't really have an answer for that question. "They're missing something. She asked if I had brought something to help them. Of course I didn't bring anything except what I had with me when we escaped."</p>
<p>"Huh? Well, she's a bit nuts too, but what's new with that around here…"</p>
<p>"We're all a bit nuts," Sven said mildly.</p>
<p><em>Truth</em>. Vince frowned. "Missing something she thought you'd have from what, your home?"</p>
<p>She nodded. "I don't know what she'd expect me to have. <em>They</em> hid it. We were long gone by the time it was actually done." Bitterness dripped from her voice. "Like I said, I only brought with me my gaive'llar and what I was wearing…"</p>
<p>"Yeah, same as us."</p>
<p>"I got to bring my awesome sense of humor with me too." Daniel smirked. "Can't say the same for the rest of ya."</p>
<p>"Hey!" Hunk pouted.</p>
<p>"Oh sure, just really hit the big guy where it hurts, kid."</p>
<p>Oops. "It's okay, big guy, your personality makes up for any awesome humor you're lacking."</p>
<p>Romelle had still been thinking on the previous statement. "…And you," she said suddenly, quietly. "I brought all of you here."</p>
<p>"Ha! That means you brought my awesome humor and Hunk's personality! You win."</p>
<p>"And the waffle fries!"</p>
<p>Lance stared at Romelle and felt something else trying to put itself together in his head. "Wasn't the Princess kind of acting like… she was expecting us?"</p>
<p>"She was." Sven nodded. "It was odd."</p>
<p>"And then four of us start hearing voices. Lions."</p>
<p>"But there's five lions." Keith grimaced. They were back where they'd started, now. "Alright. Moment of truth. Who here is hearing voices, or growls? If you haven't said so before…"</p>
<p>Hunk raised his hand silently. <em>That's not an invitation!</em> The growl answered with what felt amazingly like a smirk.</p>
<p>Lance nodded. "Me."</p>
<p>"I am." Sven frowned. "More frequently, the longer I stay here."</p>
<p>
  <em>"You find me soothing."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I do not.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"I'm in your head."</em>
</p>
<p>He attempted to glare at the lion through his mind; it wasn't the most satisfying of endeavors.</p>
<p>"And I am too." Keith looked around at the others, specifically the others who hadn't spoken. He hadn't really expected it, but…</p>
<p>"Just ghosts," Vince confirmed with a grumble.</p>
<p>"Yes, I've only spoken to the ghosts in the village… I'm sorry."</p>
<p>"I'm not hearing anything. Like I'd be able to keep that to myself."</p>
<p>Wasn't that the truth. And that left them with… "Four of us."</p>
<p>"So either the Princess talks to the wind lion," Hunk said quietly, "or we just…" He shook his head. For a moment he could see Jace standing by him in the temple again, and it was impossible to keep the thought down. "We didn't bring the right person…?" No, he did not like how that came out at <em>all</em>.</p>
<p>"Fuck." Lance flashed back to Flynn with the statue, the green one?, in his hands. <em>Are we missing someone important?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"There are many ways to answer that."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Yet you won't answer at all.</em> Again Lance's mind went to the other possibility. The person they were missing in a more immediate sense. But he couldn't quite bring himself to voice it. Pidge <em>was</em> honest to a fault, he'd have mentioned if he were mentally sparring with another mysterious growl, <em>surely</em>.</p>
<p>"…It can't have been that," Hunk said quietly. "I mean it doesn't make sense that they'd just be waitin' for <em>us</em>, yeah? This is an ancient superweapon and we're aliens from the <em>entire</em> Interior Expanse away…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"What we require is complicated. The Earth is patient."</em>
</p>
<p>"No, you're right. That wouldn't be… logical."</p>
<p>Daniel shrugged. "Maybe it's some other Arusian we haven't met? I mean, there's a whole planet of them."</p>
<p>"It's Lady Larmina," Vince snickered, drawing a groan from the gunner.</p>
<p>"Great. That's just what we need, Her Royal Bitchiness having a lion." He was cut off by Lance reaching down and ruffling his hair, which was already a mess since he'd gone so long without a haircut. "Dude, whyyyyy?"</p>
<p>"'Cause you're a brat."</p>
<p>"…Point."</p>
<p>At least he had Daniel to make sense. Nothing else was doing much of it. "Hunk's right, it doesn't make sense. Why would they need humans?" Yet he felt the warmth, and wasn't sure it was agreement with that idea but it definitely wasn't a contradiction.</p>
<p>Sven had been mentally arguing with his voice more than he'd been listening—not exactly in <em>words</em>, he was still trying to find a way to mind-glare and she was finding it infuriatingly funny. Then Keith said something that commanded his full attention, and everyone else's.</p>
<p>"They're expecting the Drules to be back any day."</p>
<p>"…Any day?"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Uh, what exactly d'you mean by <em>any day</em>, boss?"</p>
<p>"Any chance they're wrong?"</p>
<p>"Their lunar cycle was the deadline. The governor who was here, who died, was supposed to answer a contact by then… and the cycle ended a couple of days ago."</p>
<p>"…Fuzzmuffins."</p>
<p>"Fuck." Lance and Sven had both said that at the same time; Lance shot him a smirk. He couldn't resist. "Aw, we're fuck buddies."</p>
<p>Sven glared, then it slowly shifted into a smirk. He knew how Jace would've dealt with that; he had a better version. "I'm out of your league."</p>
<p><em>God, I miss Jace… but the Viking's not half bad.</em> "Might be, but I love challenges."</p>
<p>Staring between them in disbelief, Daniel lost his grip on his temper. How the hell were they bickering like things were normal when—"This was stupid! I told you this was stupid!" His prior thought that they couldn't just abandon Arus seemed to evaporate in a wave of visceral fear.</p>
<p>Keith put a hand up to silence him. "I offered to evac as many as we could. Was told no." Romelle snorted at that; of course Arusians wouldn't do something that prudent.</p>
<p>Lance understood. "They've fought for their home this long. They aren't going to stop."</p>
<p>"What does it matter if they fought for their home? Most of them are dead!" Daniel was seething now. This had been a bad idea. He'd <em>told</em> them this was a bad idea.</p>
<p>"We have to find these lions." Sven pinched the bridge of his nose.</p>
<p>Keith nodded. "Unless we do, there's a good chance that they're <em>all</em> going to die."</p>
<p>"So will we!"</p>
<p>"They ain't exactly actin' like they wanna be found…" <em>You hear him? Knock off the riddles!</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"It is not so simple. You are not searching the right places."</em>
</p>
<p>That only annoyed Hunk more.</p>
<p><em>Where are you?</em> Lance tried. May as well take the direct shot.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Somewhere quite hot."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Would a straight answer kill you? These people, the Arusians, they need you!</em> In response, a wave of sadness flooded over him and he froze, eyes wide. <em>That</em> was new.</p>
<p><em>We need to find you</em>. Sven's annoyance had become urgency. <em>Or we're all going to die.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"You will know where."</em>
</p>
<p><em>What?</em> But there was no answer. As if that had been an answer! "Mine just told me that I would know where, but then went silent."</p>
<p>"I… mine is sad? I'm confused."</p>
<p>"Mine is cryptic."</p>
<p>Vince looked between Daniel and Romelle, recognizing the others were off in the land of weird voices. Daniel himself was in the land of anger, partly to cover the fear. But then, the fear <em>made</em> him angry. He was angry at how much the Drules scared him, and he wanted them all dead, and—it was all just a lot of negative emotions. Looking back at Vince he shook his head and shrugged. <em>I don't know what to fucking do. This is stupid!</em></p>
<p>Vince caught his expression and just nodded. He couldn't disagree at this point.</p>
<p>Looking around at the others himself, Keith was suddenly struck by the deep, distant thunder of the storm lion in his mind. <em>"We are where we are felt."</em></p>
<p>"…What the hell does that mean?" he blurted before he could stop himself; the others looked over at him in surprise. "Mine just said… 'we are where we are felt'."</p>
<p>"And that's gotta be as cryptic as Hunk's."</p>
<p><em>We are where we are felt…</em> for some reason, Sven didn't think it was that cryptic. Or it was, but there was a logic to it, just a logic he couldn't quite grasp. "I feel as if we're missing something obvious."</p>
<p>"Yeah well, that happens when they won't fuzzin' <em>tell</em> us anything."</p>
<p>
  <em>"The answers are waiting. You must have faith."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Faith?!</em> Hunk couldn't even put together a coherent answer to that, though no doubt his mental sputtering got across. Nothing about this situation invited <em>faith</em>.</p>
<p>"Fire… water… earth… storm…" Keith started pacing. Daniel didn't even say anything about him finally filling his own role, mostly because he didn't have enough calm to put it together… but he was thinking it. "Alright." Only one idea was coming to mind. "Let's listen to what they're telling us. See if we can figure this out. I don't see any other path forward but to just… try to feel, I guess."</p>
<p>A glare from their gunner followed that, mirroring skeptical looks from Vince and Romelle. They let Daniel do the talking; he was the one that was <em>angry</em>. "And what are the rest of us supposed to do? Run around hoping you guys find the voices in your heads before we all die?"</p>
<p>"Probably?" Hunk didn't care much for this 'plan' either, but it wasn't like he had a better one.</p>
<p>Keith sighed. "Keep your eyes and ears open for any information or hints. And keep a lookout for Pidge."</p>
<p><em>Pidge would totally be agreeing with Daniel if he were here</em>, Vince mused. He wondered if he should back him up in his absence, but wasn't sure what to say that Daniel hadn't yelled already.</p>
<p>"So… what I said. Wander around and hope you find Voltron."</p>
<p>"You could help me," Lance suggested. "Got a feeling I'm gonna need the moral support."</p>
<p><em>Moral support?</em> "You—okay listen, you all agreed, no dying!"</p>
<p>Lance nodded. "No dying."</p>
<p>…Well, as long as they remembered. Daniel sighed, knowing perfectly well this wasn't an argument he could win. "Okay." If the <em>old man</em> needed his backup, he supposed he'd have to give it. Maybe it would help them all <em>not die</em>.</p>
<p>"Dying is not an option here," Keith said firmly. Then he shook his head. It was late, and it had been a damn long day. "Okay. Everyone get some rest, for now."</p>
<p>Rest? The group scattered to their rooms, but not without every one of them casting their commander a doubtful look. <em>Rest</em> did not sound likely any time soon.</p>
<p>Arguing with lion voices or stewing in their own feelings, though… that they would probably manage.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>When Pidge woke up, he wasn't alone. There was a huge black and gray wolf curled up in the underbrush only a few feet away, golden eyes fixed directly on his.</p>
<p>"Komora sa kye?!"</p>
<p>Maybe he shouldn't do anything to startle it, but…</p>
<p>The wolf didn't actually seem at all startled. It stretched its front paws out and got to its feet, approaching slowly. Pidge recoiled. The beast was enormous, graceful, and every bit a predator; he'd rather have faced down a dozen Drules or Galra than such a perfect killing machine. But this was where he was.</p>
<p>Cautiously he started to reach for his knife, keeping his eyes on the wolf. <em>Show no fear</em>. "Back off."</p>
<p>It paused, snuffling in what sounded an awful lot like confusion. Then it padded forward again. The movements didn't seem aggressive, but he didn't dare risk it—he tried to push back and stand, only to hit the tree behind him.</p>
<p><em>Mijtairra</em>…</p>
<p>As he was trying to recover and get to his feet, the wolf reached him and licked the hand he'd been edging towards his knife.</p>
<p>…<em>Komora?</em></p>
<p>Did wolves taste test their food? It didn't seem threatening at all… it licked again and nuzzled his hand, snuffling softly.</p>
<p>"Um." He blinked, flailing for what he might be missing. The wolf's nose was warm and leathery, a contrast to the soft fur that covered its snout. He took in the sensations for a moment then sank back; that only earned him another sloppy lick.</p>
<p><em>Okay, defensiveness isn't working. What do you do when defensiveness doesn't work? You attempt manners.</em> He wasn't sure that lesson really applied to this, but what else did he have?</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you?"</p>
<p>Snuffle-lick. He'd take that as reciprocation.</p>
<p>A wind whispered through the trees, and Pidge closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the forest. He didn't understand what was going on, but he supposed there were worse situations to be in…</p>
<p>Something echoed on the winds. A soft growl that was definitely <em>not</em> a wolf. His eyes flashed open and he dropped into a guard stance, looking for the source of the sound; the wolf whimpered and nuzzled his side.</p>
<p>"Friend of yours?" he asked quietly.</p>
<p>With a growl of its own the wolf turned, stepping forward. It still didn't seem aggressive—its tail was swishing cheerfully as it raised its head, sniffing the air. Then it yipped, turned to look at him, and padded ahead.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is it…</em>
</p>
<p>"You've got to be kidding," Pidge muttered.</p>
<p>The wind rose again, the growl louder this time. He <em>knew</em> that sound; he'd been trying to avoid it. But hesitation only got him an insistent yip. <em>Okay, fine</em>. If the monster wolf wanted him to follow it he supposed he'd better follow.</p>
<p>They walked deeper into the forest. The canopy was becoming thick, leaving the ground in shadow pierced by whatever few beams of moonlight could find their way through. Everything was in bloom now… his focus on the wolf drifted very quickly as he tried to take everything in. This was nothing like the forests of Balto, integrated seamlessly into civilization, each branch pressed into some precise purpose. This was fully wild, untamed.</p>
<p>It was beautiful…</p>
<p>He lost track of time, fascinated by the forest, but they'd been walking for at least twenty minutes when something loomed up ahead. For another minute it was just an indistinct mass of darkness, which was irritating. Darkness hid nothing from a shinori. But as they came closer, he finally realized why he couldn't make out any real features: there weren't any.</p>
<p>
  <em>That… is a tree stump.</em>
</p>
<p><em>That is one </em>hell <em>of a tree stump.</em></p>
<p>The stump was <em>enormous</em>. If it were just a little larger, its ragged top edge would have broken through the canopy of the forest entirely. As he approached Pidge tried to imagine what the tree must have been like intact; it would surely have rivaled Balto's olkari trees, and there certainly wasn't anything else like it in <em>this</em> forest. He moved closer, resting a hand on the bark and finding it rock hard beneath his fingertips.</p>
<p>
  <em>Petrified…?</em>
</p>
<p>The wolf yipped for his attention and started making its way around the stump. Well, they'd gotten this far. He followed, noting patches of moss on the petrified bark, cool and feathery when he touched it.</p>
<p>Suddenly, shadow took the place of the bark. A huge hole opened up in the stump, overgrown with thick vines like a curtain. There was darkness beyond it, and depth; the whole stump might well be hollow. With the vines in the way he couldn't make out much more.</p>
<p>The wind rose again, and several of the smaller vines rippled. Then the strange, musical growl.</p>
<p>It was close.</p>
<p>It was <em>here</em>.</p>
<p>Pidge whirled on the wolf. "What the hell is in there?" he demanded, for a moment actually expecting an answer. He did get one, in a sense. The wolf dropped to its belly and whimpered, facing the opening with its tail lashing. And then the damn thing jerked its head forward in what could only be a command.</p>
<p><em>Is it frightened?</em> Wolf body language wasn't an area of expertise, exactly, but fear was his best guess for the moment. What could frighten such a majestic predator? And what did it think <em>he</em> could do about it?</p>
<p>"Don't tell me you want me to go in there."</p>
<p>Yip.</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Snuffle-yip.</p>
<p>"I said no! I'm curious, not crazy. Besides, whatever's in there, I'm pretty sure you're better equipped to deal with it than I am." He turned away. "I've got to go… somewhere."</p>
<p>Somewhere. Not that he had a lot of options. But surely anywhere was better than—</p>
<p>The wind howled. And suddenly he and the wolf were not alone. Golden eyes glinted all around him, a dozen more wolves padding silently from the underbrush, surrounding him with soft snarls.</p>
<p>
  <em>Mijtairra sa kye.</em>
</p>
<p>"…Okay, and you and <em>all your monster wolf friends</em> haven't got this because…?"</p>
<p>A black wolf with a single gray paw—smallest of the newcomers, still bigger than it had any need to be—prowled forward, snarling. The new ones weren't nearly as friendly, apparently. It bared its fangs until he stepped back closer to the opening, then led the others in closing in.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why the hell not? What pressing business do you have with your life, now or in the foreseeable future?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>May as well get ripped apart by wolves then.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>True, but that sounds unpleasant.</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge sighed and turned to the curtain of vines, drawing his knife. "Fine. I'm going. Under duress. A <em>lot</em> of duress."</p>
<p>The vines were thick and sturdy, and resisted just being pushed aside. He paced in front of the opening until he found a gap he could duck through. Functioning stealth mode would <em>really</em> have been nice right now. Bracing himself, he dropped into a crouch and sprang forward—darting through the opening, feinting left then lurching right, finding a rough alcove in the petrified wood where he could take up a defensive position.</p>
<p>Nothing happened.</p>
<p>…<em>That was anticlimactic</em>.</p>
<p>The huge hollow was empty. But that made no <em>sense</em>. The growl had come from in here… he narrowed his eyes, searching more closely. The ground was covered in thick moss, with only a few patches of bare dirt visible, and several large roots poked out of the ground around the edges. No apparent hiding places, not for anything that could've been making that sound.</p>
<p>"I don't like this," he muttered, almost inviting it to answer. And as if in response, the growl came again.</p>
<p>It was loud, and it was <em>overwhelming</em>, washing over and through him like a gale. There was no true sense of threat in it, but its power was threat enough. Pidge shivered—or maybe that was just the resonance—and flailed for what he could possibly be missing.</p>
<p><em>Cloaking</em>.</p>
<p>Well <em>that</em> was ridiculous. Nothing could possibly be cloaked in here. It was a giant tree stump deep within a forest on a dead planet. And yet, better ideas were in short supply.</p>
<p><em>Okay. We'll go with that</em>. If something was cloaked in here, there should be some sign in the moss—it would still have physical presence. He forced himself to move forward, startling as another growl echoed. This one was lower and longer, almost a purr…</p>
<p>He felt it before he saw it. A sudden sense of being penned in despite the openness of the hollow. He froze, clutching his knife tighter, looking around for the source of the sensation. And then the air began to ripple.</p>
<p>A moment later, in a wash of light and shadow, he found himself surrounded by metal.</p>
<p>"Komora sa kye?!"</p>
<p>Pidge scrambled backwards, the one place that wasn't cut off, losing his footing and falling back into the moss. It was as soft as it looked, at least. Looking up he saw the metal walls that had surrounded him were smooth and curved at both the top and the bottom, tapering to sharp points that rested lightly in two small patches of dirt. They looked almost like…</p>
<p>Claws…</p>
<p>Slowly, Pidge looked up. And up. The claws and the metal block they were attached to gave way to a long, sleek limb, a metal joint, a complex-looking mechanism sheathed in armor more brilliant green than the moss. The green continued to the side where the joint had attached, but he wasn't looking at that anymore. He was looking further up.</p>
<p>Two shining golden eyes were staring right back at him.</p>
<p>
  <em>This… is this… this doesn't make sense, it can't possibly be…</em>
</p>
<p>The machine was a <em>cat</em>. An enormous green and silver cat, with some dark cabling visible. Its face wore a sharp, challenging expression despite being made of metal, and the eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the hollow.</p>
<p>Well his knife wasn't going to do anything with this, so <em>manners</em> somehow slipped out instead. "Um… hello?"</p>
<p><em>"Greetings, cub."</em> His eyes widened as the bell-like voice rang out in his mind, sharp and clear as a morning wind. <em>"I trust my messengers were not too impolite?"</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Connections</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maybe a second attempt to unwind would go better than the first. This time, Allura decided to use a more… focusing method. Archery, or specifically, a meditative style of archery long practiced within the Crown Province. She'd set up outside in the castle's shadow.</p>
<p>Normally, the art of <em>mysluka</em> would be performed with a much larger bow, wearing a wardrobe stylized for the ritual. In this situation she was content with a normal bow and normal clothing. It didn't need the ceremonial trappings. It was focusing on her movements, her breathing, everything about the actions themselves that she felt would bring her mind back to her task. She needed this.</p>
<p>The meal had gone well, she thought. Most of those the Great Lions were calling had been there. One had not, but thankfully, Black informed her that Green had eyes on him… if only she'd been able to say so. But it pleased her greatly that the process was beginning.</p>
<p><em>Hope</em>.</p>
<p>As she drew each arrow, she pictured things that distracted her in the arrow's place, ritually dismissing each distraction before letting each one go to the target. The quirks of the newcomers, strange by Arusian standards. The frustration of wanting to say things she knew she couldn't say, and the seething emotion that she couldn't yet do those things she most wanted to do. Each one became an arrow and flew to the target, ending buried with a resounding <em>thunk</em> in a propped-up pillow on an old chair. She even fired an arrow for how she felt Nanny would react if she saw the chair filling with arrows, despite the chair being on its last legs.</p>
<p>Her thoughts drifted from her distractions to her father. How would he react to the revelations she was having? The Great Lions were part of something still greater… it had a name, and that name was Voltron. There was a decision to hide this Voltron, and whether from time alone or other forces, things had been forgotten. So many things. Was this Voltron something terrible, something the lions were meant to seal away? Was she striving to awaken something more destructive than the Drules?</p>
<p>No… she couldn't fully engage with that possibility. The narrative of the Lions was a story of Grand Protectors. So, by that logic, this Voltron must be a Grand Protector as well. Perhaps even stronger, maybe frighteningly so. Perhaps that was why it had to be hidden? And what of the 'Galra' Romelle had spoken of. This great Voltron had to be hidden due to its power? It could be the reason the Lions needed to be so careful in their calling of these offworlders.</p>
<p>Yes… she must continue to hold her trust in Black. It was all coming together now, she couldn't start to doubt. As the last arrow flew, she let the doubt fly with it; what was left was resolve. Heading to the chair, she pulled the arrows out to start another round. Perhaps the newcomers were making progress even now?</p>
<p>She hoped so.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sleep wasn't coming easy. No surprise. For about the thousandth time since escaping Korrinoth, Hunk was wishing for a datapad. Any datapad. Just something he could load some heavy metal onto, and have <em>something</em> to keep his ears—and mind—occupied.</p>
<p>Silence sucked.</p>
<p>It was good, now, that he'd rock-paper-rocket-launchered himself into having his own room. Nobody else was in here to be bothered with his restlessness. Nobody disturbed by the fact that he was sitting on the floor with a pair of hangers from the closet, drumming out a Vampire Kryptonite bass line. He'd even briefly considered going back to the castle; they had been given rooms there, after all. But the beds in there didn't invite a whole lot of confidence, and he didn't really want to try navigating the place in the pitch darkness anyway.</p>
<p>Maybe if he was going to be awake, he should try to accomplish something… though the thought wasn't pleasant. He did not want to hear from the Lion of Earth, or whatever he was.</p>
<p>Then again, what choice did he have?</p>
<p>…Did any of them have a choice about any of this?</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do you?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Oh, there you are," he scowled. "Just waitin' to say the most annoying thing at the most annoying time, yeah?"</p>
<p>It purred. Or at least he was pretty sure the sound that filled his mind, feeling like crunching stone, was a purr. <em>"You seem annoyed very easily, where I am concerned."</em></p>
<p>He supposed that was true. Annoyance was not a thing he dealt with much; hell, even Jace hadn't managed it more than once or twice. This thing had beat him out in a matter of days. "Sure am! It's what we'd call a 'you' problem."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Or perhaps it is because the fallen one accepted what you claimed yourself to be. And I do not."</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk's head snapped up, and he dropped the hangers. "You—" Anything he wanted to say just became incoherent sputtering. "Th—I don't even know where to—fuckin' fuzzmuffins, dude, don't talk to me!"</p>
<p><em>"You know that you hoped to hear my voice,"</em> the lion answered calmly. <em>"Dude."</em></p>
<p>…<em>Welp</em>. "Yeah, sure." Not exactly how he'd have phrased it, but not altogether wrong. "I was hopin' you might show up with somethin' useful to say, for once? We gotta find you, yeah? This planet kinda needs you."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I await your arrival. The Earth is patient."</em>
</p>
<p>"Dude, we don't have <em>time</em> for patience! You miss the evil alien invasion or somethin'?"</p>
<p>To his surprise, the voice answered with agitation. <em>"You do not comprehend."</em></p>
<p>"You could just answer a question for once, maybe I'd get it then." He snorted. "Dunno if you've missed this, too, but I sure as hell ain't the brains of this operation."</p>
<p>Now its response was a low, harsh laugh. <em>"And this is why the Earth must be patient. Still you hide."</em></p>
<p>…He was getting damn sick of that. "Ain't hidin' anything. We haven't met, maybe you don't know how bad I am at stealth."</p>
<p>
  <em>"But I know you, cub. I see the mask you wear."</em>
</p>
<p>"Shut up about me," he snapped. "You're the one playin' games when people need you."</p>
<p>
  <em>"What are you hiding?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Nothing! Don't you listen to—?!" he snarled, then cut himself off and shook his head. No, he was not going to get this pissed off at some… jerk-ass robot lion that talked in his brain. "You're not helpin' anything, you know that, right?"</p>
<p>The lion responded with what could only be described as a huff, then fell silent. Which… wasn't exactly what he'd been going for, either. Scowling, Hunk tossed the hangers back at the closet and left the room, heading for the ship's hatch.</p>
<p>There were two moons visible in the night sky, bright enough to drown out many of the nearby stars. Probably no annoying lion voices up there. He looked back at the ship. They could leave any time, in theory…</p>
<p>Of course they couldn't leave.</p>
<p>
  <em>What choice do we have?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"What would you choose?"</em>
</p>
<p>He couldn't even bring himself to be mad at that question. "Hell if I know. Doesn't matter if the choice ain't there to begin with, yeah?"</p>
<p>What <em>would</em> he choose? Leaving Arus defenseless wasn't it, that was for sure. But he didn't want to be here, fighting with some cryptic voice in his mind. It wasn't the Drules he was afraid of…</p>
<p>
  <em>What are you hiding?</em>
</p>
<p>Nothing. Absolutely nothing! But even if he were—if he wanted it <em>found</em>, he wouldn't have been <em>hiding</em> it, now would he? And if these lions <em>did</em> want to be found, why were they being so infuriating about… everything?</p>
<p>
  <em>"If I gave you the answers so easily, what would you have?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Uh, the answers? That's kinda the point."</p>
<p>Again the lion roared, though not nearly as loud as the last time.<em>"It is not so simple."</em> He felt something like frustration filling its voice. <em>"You will understand."</em></p>
<p>"…Will I?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Will you?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk glared at a nearby rock that probably hadn't done anything to deserve it. <em>You will understand</em> sounded an awful lot like certainty. "So, no choice, then."</p>
<p>
  <em>"That is not what I said."</em>
</p>
<p>"Knock off the riddles! This is bad enough without you bein' all like—like <em>that</em>. If you can't give me a straight answer how 'bout at least a fuzzin' hint?"</p>
<p>No answer. Unless the headache he was getting counted as an answer… which he supposed it might, but it wasn't a very <em>good</em> answer.</p>
<p><em>Maybe I'm just too tired for this</em>. Yeah, he'd go with that. It wasn't that the lion was crazy-cryptic or that what he was saying made no sense. Big Dumb Hunk just needed to sleep on it, and maybe he'd get some ideas. Right.</p>
<p>Returning to his room, he finally managed to pass out, with the faint rumble of distant stones echoing in the back of his mind.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Pidge hadn't made it back to his feet. It was not a priority. The robot lion—because there was no damned point pretending he didn't know what this was—was staring at him; he could <em>feel</em> its gaze. Which was a terrifying thing, in itself. What the hell did it mean that he could <em>feel</em> a machine staring at him, passing judgment on him?</p>
<p>
  <em>"Perhaps it means your assumptions are too harsh."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh hells no. "Stop that," he growled, knowing it was irrational but not particularly caring. "Stop <em>talking</em> inside my <em>head</em>. Get out of my head <em>altogether</em>."</p>
<p>There was silence for a moment. Then, <em>"Yes. I see. I recognize your kind, tasakvar."</em></p>
<p>Pidge froze. "What in the third hell did you just call me?!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I called you what you are, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>He just sat there, staring up at the lion, trying to comprehend. There was no comprehending. It made no sense. <em>Tasakvar</em>. It was the proper terminology for his condition—the lack of telepathy. The polite term, the medical term, the one that went unused in favor of…</p>
<p>"Varetya," he corrected quietly. "I'm varetya."</p>
<p><em>"Defective? No."</em> A low growl accompanied the rebuke, echoing through the hollow. It could have been soothing, if he were in any mood to be soothed. <em>"And you know this."</em></p>
<p>The damn lion was speaking Baltan to him—well, maybe—if he thought about it, he wasn't actually clear what language was being spoken. He felt the words as much as he heard them, as if their meaning were touching his mind directly. But those two words had been <em>emphatically</em> Baltan. "What the hells <em>are</em> you?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I am the Lion of Wind… or Green Lion, if you prefer. It is a pleasure to meet you, little one."</em>
</p>
<p>…The Lion of <em>Wind</em>. He hesitated a moment, then shook it off. No, it didn't mean anything. He wasn't going to let that through. "Nobody's ever pleased to meet me, I'm not pleased to meet you, and I don't want you inside my head, you intrusive <em>bitch."</em></p>
<p><em>"Hmm."</em> A soft growl filled the hollow as it—she?—considered that. <em>"And that is why you were blocking out my calls? If there were another way I would take it, cub. But I wonder… do you reject all voices, or do you simply reject mine?"</em></p>
<p>The thought of getting up and leaving was very much on Pidge's mind. But the monster wolves would probably object. The team needed information. And something else was telling him to stay here, to hear her out…</p>
<p>"I'm going to tell you I don't like voices," he muttered irritably, "and then you're going to point out that I was okay with one, once, until—" no, he wasn't going <em>there</em> either, "so obviously that's not my real problem, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>She laughed, a chiming growl that danced over the crevices of the hollow. It did not improve his mood. <em>"I would not have, until you volunteered it. I cannot see everything within your mind, cub. Only that which is brought to the surface, like the leaves of a canopy stirred by the winds."</em></p>
<p>…Much as Pidge didn't <em>want</em> that to make him feel better, it did, and he cursed under his breath. "Fine. Whatever. Talk in my head. I don't care." He stood and crossed his arms, scowling up at her. Though the lion was motionless, again he could feel those faintly glowing eyes following him… "What do you want?"</p>
<p><em>"You came into my forest, fleeing your Pride. What do </em>you <em>want?"</em></p>
<p>Fleeing his… it took him a moment, and then he snorted. "If I had a Pride, I wouldn't need to be here." <em>If I hadn't…</em> he shook that off, trying to force it down before she could catch it.</p>
<p>Whether he succeeded, or she simply chose not to address it, he couldn't know. <em>"No? And why </em>do <em>you need to be here? This forest cannot protect you. Your enemy and your pain both lie within. Turning inward to wallow in them cannot heal those wounds…"</em></p>
<p>His eyes narrowed. "It's always worked before."</p>
<p>
  <em>"A strange assertion, when no healing has occurred."</em>
</p>
<p>…Pidge really, really didn't like where this conversation kept going. He didn't like having this conversation to begin with. It was just that much more infuriating that this damned telepathic robot lion kept on being <em>right</em>. And from the smug purr she gave, she <em>knew</em> it.</p>
<p>Of course there hadn't been healing. How could he heal when he kept…</p>
<p>
  <em>"What are you afraid of?"</em>
</p>
<p>His expression darkened. "Don't you dare!" Then the fury in his eyes gave way to suspicion. "You can hear my thoughts, don't tell me you missed me screaming the answer to that at your <em>entire forest</em>, anyway."</p>
<p>
  <em>"The question is not for my benefit. But perhaps you should return to your Pride, and consider it further."</em>
</p>
<p>It wasn't worth arguing the Pride thing again, he decided. Instead he cautiously stepped forward, looking at his distorted reflection in the lion's silvery claws. Consider it further? But he knew where that would get him, too. "Don't you get it?" he asked quietly. "Or are you too busy <em>poking</em> at my brain to bother to put all those canopy-thoughts or whatever they are together?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Tell me, then."</em>
</p>
<p>Why the hell would he tell her? She was a mythical lion robot and he was…</p>
<p>Varetya. Back to that. Because of course he was defective—and it had, as the Earthlings would say, <em>fuck-all</em> to do with whether he could speak to his own people telepathically or not. If he weren't <em>defective</em>, he should've figured out how to <em>be</em> like a human by now. To fit in. To—</p>
<p>
  <em>"No."</em>
</p>
<p>He glared up at her. "No what?"</p>
<p>She didn't answer. <em>What in all three hells? </em>Now <em>she shuts up?</em> Glancing back at the mouth of the hollow, he saw the glinting eyes of the wolves and shook his head. Why the hells was he doing this? Why should he tolerate her playing at… whatever she was playing at?</p>
<p><em>Because you don't </em>want <em>to be like a human or anything else, you just want to be understood. And how many humans ever bothered to try that? So the giant cat robot who's reading your mind is what you've got.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>One human kind of managed. He's dead.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Giant cat robot might be safer, in that case.</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge was certain the Lion of Wind laughed. And he was certain it should have annoyed him, but for some reason…</p>
<p><em>"Do you see it now? You don't </em>believe <em>yourself 'defective'. You bear that name like a badge of defiance. What is it you truly think yourself to be?"</em></p>
<p>…He very nearly snapped at her about those surface thoughts again, because he'd heard that logic before too. But he bit it back, because it wasn't exactly exotic reasoning. Or at least it couldn't be <em>that</em> exotic, since it wasn't wrong.</p>
<p>She kept <em>doing</em> that.</p>
<p>"What do you <em>want</em> from me?"</p>
<p><em>"You will know that in time, cub. But first you must decide what </em>you <em>want… and you cannot do that here."</em> The light in her eyes flickered, dimming, and he saw the shimmering veil of her cloak beginning to reactivate. <em>"We will speak again…"</em></p>
<p>Silence fell over the hollow. "Mijtairra sa kye," he muttered, staring at the emptiness in frustration. "That's how we're doing this?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Return to your Pride…"</em>
</p>
<p>…Oh. Or they were doing it <em>that</em> way. Wonderful.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Larmina knew what she had to do, she was just trying to think of anything else she <em>could</em> do. Her poor grasp of Common was infuriating. She did not like the offworlders—well, she didn't trust them, anyway. She didn't know enough about them to really dislike them, and didn't care to.</p>
<p>Still, the fact that she could hardly speak their language was a problem. It was important to know what they were talking about if they turned up in the crypts again or something… and it was just so much <em>easier</em> to disdain the visitors when she didn't have to feel slightly dumb whenever they spoke.</p>
<p>That led to her problem.</p>
<p>Returning to the Seven Isles to get help from her own tutors was, of course, not an option… if they were even alive. And there was exactly one royal educator she knew of around here.</p>
<p>"Um, Lady Hys?"</p>
<p>The governess had been wrapping and organizing some newly-cured roli meat. "Ach, don't—" Whirling around and seeing who'd spoken, she startled again, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Lady Larmina." She bowed. "And with a proper form of address! Is there something you require of me?"</p>
<p>"Surely you don't think I'd use proper manners just to make nice to get something I want?"</p>
<p>"Oh, I certainly do."</p>
<p>"Well, you're not wrong." She shrugged. "I'm not happy about this either, but I need to learn better Common. It's for Arus."</p>
<p>To her surprise, Nanny's expression softened a little—or at least, the suspicion stopped being focused on her. "Ah, I see. You've met them too."</p>
<p><em>Huh. Nanny doesn't like them?</em> That was either an argument in Nanny's favor, or one in favor of the offworlders. She couldn't decide which. It probably didn't matter… "Sure have!" she agreed cheerfully. "And it's my duty as a Daughter of Arus to know what in the five hells they're talking about if they're gonna be wandering the castle, right?"</p>
<p><em>Honored Mother grant me patience.</em> "Yes, of course." It was a valid point, and even if it hadn't been, at no point had Nanny ever been formally relieved of her duties in educating this… <em>hellion</em> of a Lady. If Larmina actually wanted to learn something, for once, it really wasn't her place to refuse.</p>
<p>Perhaps association with those <em>hooligans</em> would finally make her see the importance of <em>proper behavior</em>.</p>
<p>"I must finish arranging our stocks," she said finally, indicating the roli meat. "Then I have some time free for instruction." So far as she was aware, none of the royal tutoring materials had been salvaged from the castle; a pity, but there had been priorities. Rumor in the shelters was that a small but significant portion of books from the village library had been recovered, though. "Go and check with Elder Moreas about any Common instructional texts we may have available, and await me in the Crown's chambers."</p>
<p>"On it." She feigned a curtsy; hard to do when she was wearing her customary hunting clothes, which certainly did <em>not</em> include a skirt. Smirking in response to the glare it earned her, she headed out into the main tunnels.</p>
<p>Having to spend extra time with Nanny! She really hated these offworlders.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith had ordered rest, but Lance barely slept a wink. He found himself outside the castle at dawn. His eyes lifted up to the sky—the brilliant golden sunrise giving way to deep Beau Terre blue—and he felt it again. That sense of home. Both a reminder and something else, something that lurked on the edges of his awareness.</p>
<p>As if on cue he felt the flame that licked at his mind, and wondered why he didn't find it an intrusion. Because it wasn't from <em>him</em>. It was the lion—the Lion of Flame, that was what the princess had called him.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, he walked further down the hall, trying to focus on the flame. But all the thoughts that had kept him awake started to spin again in his mind. He frowned, trying to push them away, but they weren't budging. It wasn't working anymore… he couldn't shove him away.</p>
<p>Flynn.</p>
<p>
  <em>"He's always inside of you."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance shut his eyes, as if that could drown out the voice in his head. The visitor was somehow both comforting and unwelcome, at times. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to drown it out, but he <em>was</em> sure he didn't want to talk about it.</p>
<p>"Where are you?" he muttered.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Near, but far."</em>
</p>
<p>That wasn't helpful at all. Shaking his head again, he walked up a stairway that he'd wandered near and in an attempt to not think about Flynn, he ended up thinking about Pidge. Which <em>was</em> thinking about Flynn. He sighed and hoped he could… make it up to the ninja somehow. Not that he knew how, none of them did, Flynn had been the only one of them to really… try, hadn't he? He was amazing like that…</p>
<p>
  <em>"He sounds special."</em>
</p>
<p><em>You've no idea</em>. Lance squeezed his eyes tight to try to stop the tears. He felt then coming; he couldn't let them. He might not <em>stop</em>. Pushing open a door, he blinked as he was greeted with brilliant sunlight. A wall was missing. And he was back to his own pain, the reminder of losing his home and how he felt for the Arusians.</p>
<p>Everywhere here looked, everything he thought, only seemed to lead back to his own losses. And he couldn't <em>stop</em> it.</p>
<p>Flynn would understand…</p>
<p>And then the tears blinded him. Gasping for air he found himself at the edge of the room, where the wall had been blasted out, staring at the view of a mountain in the distance. Wanting it, almost begging it, to distract him with its natural beauty.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Grief can't be avoided forever, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance jolted; the voice felt louder in his mind, <em>closer</em>, or maybe it was because he couldn't disagree. He sat down, feet over the ledge, and stared at the mountain through tear-blurred eyes. He shuddered and tried to wipe the tears back but he felt it. That hollowed-out hole in his heart, the one he'd never realized Flynn had filled up until…</p>
<p>"I loved him. I think, I was falling…" He couldn't finish the sentence.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You've lost far too much, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance stared out at the sky that reminded him of home: his parents, Charlotte, Drew. Now Flynn. All ripped away from him. And he hated it, and he didn't want to feel it, feel <em>this…</em></p>
<p>Wiping hard at his eyes, he struggled to draw a few deep breaths. He wouldn't let it go unanswered. He <em>couldn't. </em>Not the Galra, not the Drules. It couldn't be forgiven, and that familiar anger started to rise up.</p>
<p><em>"Hmmm. You seek vengeance… or justice?"</em> The voice felt deeper and louder again. Lance felt that curl of heat around him, the warmth that meant understanding and listening, but it was questioning him now too. Asking about this anger…</p>
<p>"They <em>took</em> them," he spat out, the best answer he could give. "They took them, they have to pay for it. They deserve what they get!"</p>
<p><em>"Vengeance or justice,"</em> the voice growled. <em>"Which will it be, cub?"</em></p>
<p>Lance shook his head and wiped at his eyes again, hating that he felt like Flynn might ask him the question. Hating that the thought of him was right <em>there</em> now, on the surface and not going anywhere. Grief made his eyes sting again as the memories barged their way to the front of his mind. Those brilliant purple eyes, and his warm half-smirk of a smile, and how sometimes when he looked at him everything else just fell away…</p>
<p>Heat and flame curled around him, stronger than ever this time; it almost felt like his own body heat was rising. Lance wiped at his eyes yet again and tried to breathe, grateful the lion was silent for the moment. Maybe he understood? He sat for a long time, staring at the mountain and hoping for solace, until he realized he wasn't only <em>feeling</em> the curl of smoke. He was seeing it in the sky.</p>
<p>"…Is that a volcano," he muttered.</p>
<p><em>"It is quite hot,"</em> the voice growled with amusement.</p>
<p>For a single, merciful moment, the grief really did fade, fleeing before the stunned realization. A different memory. Bringing the <em>Falcon</em> down, seeing that patch of heat in the mountains…</p>
<p>
  <em>Somewhere quite hot.</em>
</p>
<p>"Well fuck," he whispered, and the smoke danced through the blue sky.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>When Daniel woke up, Lance was nowhere to be found. Probably off chasing mysterious voices. Figured. He decided to head back to the castle and try his own fruitless search again—he was <em>going</em> to find a lizard, damn it! It was his own personal robot lion hunt at this point, since apparently he didn't get to hear any crazy voices in his head.</p>
<p>Maybe he was happy not to be hearing crazy voices in his head, but he also felt just a <em>bit</em> left out. And with Vince and Romelle and the ghosts, and the Arusians being… whatever the Arusians were… being the only sane person around here was feeling a lot like a burden.</p>
<p>Also a burden was his arm, which was hurting again. Glowy-eyed magic healing was a temporary measure, apparently. After half an hour or so of wandering the lower levels of the castle—being very sure to avoid anything <em>crypt-like</em>—it was hurting enough to need addressing. Badly.</p>
<p>Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to bring a roll of bandage-y stuff from the <em>Falcon's</em> medical supplies; the magic healing never had done anything about the swelling. Unfortunately, he had not had the same foresight about painkillers. Which was how he found himself sitting at the table where they'd had dinner, trying to wrap the injured arm, accomplishing nothing but <em>failure</em> and <em>pain</em>.</p>
<p>He smacked the table hard with his good hand as the bandage slid off, wrapped too loosely again. Part of him briefly considered looking for help—oh, hell no. He should be able to wrap a damned arm! The others had plenty to worry about already, anyway. They needed to find Voltron so they could get the hell out of here.</p>
<p>The noise as he smacked the table drew the attention of someone who did, indeed, have plenty to worry about already. But Captain Sarial had been keeping to a patrol schedule around the castle, mostly for her own benefit. When the Drules returned, she was <em>certain</em> they would know it without the need for foot patrols… but she'd been asked to remain close, since she could communicate with their guests, and having a routine was helpful.</p>
<p>The sharp <em>crack</em> from the auxiliary dining hall caught her attention, and she reflexively drew her bow as she looked around the corner. Though she really only expected to see an Earthling, and she wasn't wrong. He had a roll of something like medical tape, a badly swollen left arm, and a look of pure disgust on his face.</p>
<p>It didn't take much to assess the situation. "Do you need help?"</p>
<p>He snapped his head up. "Uh…" Looking between her and his very poorly wrapped arm, he tried to decide how to deal with this. Yes, he definitely needed help, but… "Who are you?" It came out much more confrontational than he'd intended.</p>
<p>Sarial was long past being bothered by <em>confrontational</em>. Or at least, it took more than three words of it. "My name is Sarial. Captain of the Dolce Vita militia. And you are?"</p>
<p>Relaxing a little when she didn't snap at him, he looked back at the table. "I'm Daniel. Gunner," <em>damn</em> but he wished he could say he was a pilot, "for the Earthling crew."</p>
<p>"Daniel?" She walked up to the table; the others had mentioned that name on the ship. "I've heard of you."</p>
<p>Well <em>that</em> was never a good thing. He gave a small laugh that wasn't exactly nervous, but wasn't exactly <em>not</em>. "Oh yeah?"</p>
<p>Nod. "I hear you claim some skill with explosives. I have some skill with medicine, can I help you with this?"</p>
<p>"Claim?!" he sputtered, eyes narrowing. Who exactly had been disparaging his skills to the Arusian militia lady, he would—wait, what had she just said? Following her gaze to the wraps, he gave a small grimace. He <em>did</em> need help. "Uh, I mean, sure."</p>
<p>She gave a small chuckle and took the bandages. "This will hurt a bit, but you know that, I'm sure." A couple of quick, probing touches told her that Earthling skeletal structure was similar enough to Arusian; whether the forearm bones had the same precise placement or function, she couldn't say, but there were two of them and they didn't seem to go off in any odd directions. That was all she really needed to know to begin wrapping the injury.</p>
<p>It sure as hell did hurt, and Daniel shifted uncomfortably, trying to mask how much he was wincing. "So, uh." What did he ask an Arusian he'd just met to keep his mind off the pain? "What's it like being a militia captain?"</p>
<p>"Before or after the alien invaders came to our village with infantry battalions and spacecraft?" she asked casually. It was a rather broad question.</p>
<p>He hadn't been asking it because he wanted a specific answer; he shrugged. "Both."</p>
<p>"A good deal of uneventful training, and trying to convince people to string their bows correctly, beforehand." She shrugged too; she had no particular interest in discussing the attack itself. It had gone <em>precisely</em> how one might expect it to have gone, which was to say, they'd mostly been helping civilians run away. "My soldiers have little trouble with that anymore, I confess."</p>
<p>"<em>That</em> sounds eventful."</p>
<p><em>Eventful, yes</em>. "I don't have much in the way of war stories for you, I'm afraid. The knights and the castle guards were meant to fight off real threats—we've mostly been tasked with hunting and reconnaissance since the village fell." She finished with the wrapping, and gave the bandages a small nudge to test their sturdiness. "Better?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, thanks." He flexed his arm a little. It still hurt, but the wrap was definitely secure. Then he made a face. "And don't worry, I've got enough war stories of my own. Don't need any more." He'd tried to say it cheerfully; it hadn't come out that way.</p>
<p>Sarial nodded slowly, eyes on his arm. <em>How </em>does <em>a spacecraft gunner come by an injury like that?</em> She knew the signs of 'not going to get an answer' when she saw them, and didn't ask, for the moment. "I'm certain."</p>
<p>That didn't sound nearly as patronizing as it could've; in fact it didn't sound patronizing at all. Daniel hesitated a moment. <em>What the hell, you tried asking the princess, why not the militia lady?</em> If anyone around here ought to know… "Hey about the arm, it's, uh… been swelling a lot more since we got here. You happen to know a med—" No, <em>not</em> a medic. He respected <em>one</em> medic. "—a doctor who could check it out? It hasn't exactly gotten the best medical care."</p>
<p><em>Aha</em>. "We do have a few doctors left, yes. They're in the shelters." She had been planning to visit soon, in fact—not the doctors themselves, but one of their patients. "I can't imagine any objections to taking you down there." She'd already led the other two Earthlings through the tunnels, after all… and that with the Princess' express permission.</p>
<p>"That'd be… nice." Seeing a doctor, in itself, would not be nice. But his arm hurting less would be nice. And there was a good chance Lance would be proud of him for asking for help, and having Lance proud of him would <em>really</em> make him feel better, and feeling better sounded awesome.</p>
<p>"Follow me, then." She gave him a quick second look before starting for the tunnels. He looked young—she'd judge him to be somewhere around Hanso and Allendar, or perhaps between them and Larmina. And those three had 'enough' war stories for their age, no doubt. There was more to the Earthlings… "That <em>is</em> quite an injury, and I'm certain it isn't from explosives."</p>
<p>Oh. Well. That was a question. Daniel sighed; no point hiding it, the doctor would probably ask anyway. "I haven't actually handled any explosives since joining this mis—" NOPE. "—this crew. I shoot things and do less piloting than I'd like to." He was feeling more bitter about that, and he couldn't quite say why. Maybe it was because <em>someone</em> should obviously be flying them <em>out of here</em> before the Drules showed up… "I got hurt fighting a robeast in the Drule gladiatorial arena."</p>
<p>Not a lot could surprise Sarial these days; that did. "Fighting a what?" she asked as they reached the trapdoor. "Where?!" A <em>row-beast</em> was something she genuinely couldn't quite parse, but she'd heard the <em>where</em> just fine.</p>
<p>"A robeast, it's…" Oh yeah, he was gonna be able to explain that. "I don't really know what it is, to be honest. Some kind of Drule monster that's part robot. They're very large and very destructive and they kill things." <em>Things. Yeah. Calling them 'things' makes you feel better, right?</em></p>
<p>Ah. Robotic monsters? She snorted in disgust. "That does sound like something the sinycka would do."</p>
<p>Despite not knowing what 'sinycka' meant, Daniel decided he liked it. It sounded nice and harsh and angry. "Me and the others were captured by the Ninth Kingdom and turned into gladiator slaves, it was <em>great."</em></p>
<p>…That also sounded like something the sinycka would do, and Sarial shuddered. Just slightly. "Many of our people have been taken as well," she said quietly. <em>Are they using our people as gladiators?</em> Disgusting, and somehow both better and worse than they'd feared. "I am sorry." She led him down a quieter tunnel. The medical chambers <em>could</em> be accessed through the shelter proper, but it seemed safe to assume neither of them wanted to deal with the inevitable questions right now.</p>
<p>Daniel didn't want to deal with pity, either. "It's fine. We escaped." <em>Not all of us…</em> "And I'm <em>not</em> going back." He would die first, and they'd all promised no dying, damn it.</p>
<p>Seething in his bitterness, he failed to really look at where they were going—not that there was much to see, the tunnels were just dark and tunnel-y. But suddenly the Captain had stopped at a slightly different-colored slab of rock, and she knocked on it with a distinctive pattern. The rock slid open to reveal a large chamber with a lot of curtains and partitions, and an aide who Sarial had a quick conversation with in Arusian.</p>
<p>He got a weird look from the aide, but apparently Sarial dealt with it, because after a minute they were led to one of the partitioned 'rooms'. There were two beds; one was empty. A shirtless Arusian in a lot of bandages was lying in the other, looking surly as a doctor checked him over.</p>
<p>Daniel couldn't blame him.</p>
<p>"…should be back on your feet in a couple of weeks," the doctor was saying as they entered. Sarial recognized him as the most senior physician the shelter had left; excellent. "Until then, stay in bed."</p>
<p>"I've been in bed forever, Doc," Hanso protested, looking up as the curtains parted.</p>
<p>"I assure you it has not been forever, but if you're too active it may well <em>be</em> forever."</p>
<p>Snort. Looking to Sarial for help, he grumbled, "Hey, Captain, tell him I'm fine and—" He paused as his eyes fell on her odd-looking companion. "What's that?"</p>
<p>Sarial gave an affectionately exasperated sigh; Daniel didn't have to understand what was being said to understand <em>that</em>. "You aren't fine, Hanso, you lost a quarter of your lung's outer wall. This is an Earthling, he's a guest of the Princess, and he has a name; it's Daniel." She switched to Common. "Daniel, this is Hanso—one of my militia soldiers—and Doctor Gorma of the Falastol Royal Hospital."</p>
<p>A royal hospital? That sounded promising—between the village and the very medieval castle, he'd kind of wondered about the tech level here. He nodded, then remembered that politeness was a thing and waved with his good arm. "Nice to meet you guys."</p>
<p>Hanso waved back, not understanding the words but getting the gist. "Nice to meet you, Daniel Earthling."</p>
<p>…<em>Did he just call me Daniel Earthling?</em> Daniel glanced at Sarial, who was far too experienced to actually facepalm at that… but the thought was on her mind.</p>
<p>That track was cut off by Gorma clearing his throat slightly, giving the Captain an expectant look. The wrapped arm was obvious, but also already dealt with; he awaited her explanation for why she'd brought another person here to rile up his patient.</p>
<p>Being able to convey all of that with a single tired look was one of Gorma's particular skills, and Sarial nodded. "Can you look at Daniel's arm, Doctor? I've wrapped it, but he says he's been having trouble with swelling."</p>
<p>"Of course." He motioned for Daniel to sit on the empty bed; he'd need more information than just excessive swelling.</p>
<p>A surge of completely irrational defensiveness shot through Daniel, and he pulled his arm closer. "Are you sure this guy knows what he's doing?" Royal hospital or not, he was still <em>not Jace</em>.</p>
<p>Sarial just gave a small, wry smile, and lifted her bow. "I wouldn't let him near Hanso if he didn't." Gorma looked between them and raised an eyebrow—he didn't speak Common either, and for all he knew she was threatening the Earthling for his own good.</p>
<p>Well, whatever was necessary.</p>
<p>"…Fine." Walking over to the bed, Daniel sat and held out his arm. <em>You asked for this. Literally.</em></p>
<p>Shaking his head, Gorma began unwrapping the bandages. "You never seem to bring me easy patients, Captain. Do you know the nature of his injury?"</p>
<p>"Only that he acquired it from a robotic beast while enslaved by the Drules…" That got another raised eyebrow and a sympathetic <em>hmph</em> from the doctor, and she switched to Common again. "What exactly happened to the arm, were you diagnosed?"</p>
<p>"Not really. It got, uh… broken. When it—ow!" He flinched as the doctor felt around the arm. "It hit me, the bone practically snapped in half and was sticking out of my skin. It was gross. The arena was awful." <em>Dead body on top of you was way worse</em>. Fortunately he didn't need to tell them about <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Sarial winced in sympathy, but kept it to herself; he hadn't seemed too appreciative of sympathy the last time. "Severe compound fracture," she relayed to Gorma.</p>
<p>Hanso winced too. "That sucks."</p>
<p>That made sense, Gorma decided as he studied the arm. He could see the healed wound where the bone had pierced the skin. "How long ago was the injury?" It shouldn't be nearly so swollen, if it had been long enough for the skin to heal; he stood and went to retrieve a small scanning device.</p>
<p>As she relayed the question, Sarial added, "and Hanso extends his deepest sympathies."</p>
<p>Daniel snorted and put his hand over his heart. "I'm touched," he declared, dripping sarcasm. "And uh, it's been… a month and a half, ish?" Time since the robeast had blurred, a <em>lot</em>, but it sounded about right.</p>
<p>"It's been roughly six weeks, Doctor." Sarial watched as Gorma ran the scanner over the arm; he looked progressively more displeased as he studied the results. "Hanso, Daniel is truly grateful for your sympathy."</p>
<p>As if Hanso hadn't seen the Earthling's gesture—or more to the point, as if Hanso didn't know his commander. "Captain, I don't need a quarter of my lung wall to know when you're making fun of me."</p>
<p>Sarial smirked.</p>
<p>"Six weeks," Gorma echoed, frowning at the bone scan. "Compound fractures take a long time to heal to begin with, and from this…" He looked at Daniel. "You've been using it, haven't you?"</p>
<p>Once again, it didn't take any understanding of Arusian for Daniel to get the gist of that. Sarial confirmed it; she didn't see any reason to even bother with the yes or no question. "How much have you been using it?"</p>
<p>Daniel blushed. Why the hell was he blushing? "Well I mean, escaping arena-slavery," <em>you're a horrible person, bringing that up, you know damn well it only got worse when you got here and stopped being careful with it,</em> "didn't leave much room for babying it?" He was so glad Lance wasn't here to call him on his bullshit. Though really, the rest of the crew was getting decent at calling him on his bullshit… which was annoying and oddly comforting at the same time.</p>
<p>What he didn't know was exactly how many injured teenagers Sarial had dealt with, before <em>and</em> after the Drules had attacked. She wasn't buying his bullshit either. "Of course he has been, he thought it was getting better."</p>
<p>The doctor shook his head and sighed. "The good news is, whoever set it originally did a good job, and his <em>obvious</em> overuse has only aggravated the fracture rather than knocking it out of place. Obviously these wraps are not enough; it should have been in a proper cast. I should have the materials to make one, but," he looked directly at Daniel again, "it will all be for nothing if he keeps <em>overusing</em> it."</p>
<p>…And once again, the point got across <em>just</em> fine, Arusian or not. Daniel looked at Sarial for the translation, just to be sure.</p>
<p>Noting his resigned expression, she met it with a light tone. "So, do you enjoy pain?"</p>
<p>Oh boy. "Not particularly."</p>
<p>"Excellent. Then if the doctor uses some of our limited medical resources to make you a proper cast, you'll let the arm heal correctly this time?"</p>
<p>He winced. "Yeah… I guess not screwing it up any more than it already is would be a good thing."</p>
<p>"I find 'not screwing things up' to be the best course, as a rule," she agreed, motioning for Gorma to go ahead and start work on the cast. Hanso snickered; even in another language, he recognized the Captain's 'I'm not lecturing you, I'm just giving you better ideas' tone just fine.</p>
<p>Gathering up the bandages, a roll of moldable tykat fiber, and some adhesive, Gorma started work on the cast. He <em>was</em> curious as to why this was an authorized use of their materials, but the shelter's military forces enjoyed broad deference, for obvious reasons. If Captain Sarial said the alien stranger needed a cast, then the alien stranger was important enough to need a cast. It was more than fine with him. Needless suffering due to lack of resources was something he'd seen far too much already. He re-wrapped the arm as gently as he could, ignoring the winces. Daniel shouldn't have been using it—but it should've been in a cast to begin with, too.</p>
<p>As he completed his work and gave the fiber shell a tap to test its strength, he nodded in satisfaction. "He needs to rest that arm for several more weeks. Six or seven would be ideal, the fracture is still in a fragile state."</p>
<p>"Another six or seven weeks of taking it easy on the arm," Sarial relayed, and tilted her head as she studied him. "I think you can handle that, personally."</p>
<p>Daniel had been a bit distracted thinking about how screwing things up was a specialty of his; now he looked up at her with wide eyes. "Wait, what? Oh God, <em>what?"</em> It wasn't the timeframe he was objecting to. "How do you <em>already</em> have expectations of me?" It was impossible, it was ridiculous. "This is all Lance's fault," he muttered under his breath. "Him and his high expectations of my behavior have somehow spread to other <em>planets</em>. It's a pandemic. It's a <em>plague."</em></p>
<p>The Captain smiled sweetly. "How could I not have faith in someone with skill in something as dangerous and precise as explosives?"</p>
<p><em>What?!</em> Oh, that just wasn't fair! He narrowed his eyes, then it changed to a smirk. "You got me there," he admitted. "I <em>am</em> highly skilled."</p>
<p>This conversation did not seem to involve Gorma anymore. "If that's all, I have other patients to attend to." He stood when Sarial didn't object, then paused at the curtain and cast a stern look over his shoulder. "Both of you boys, <em>rest</em>."</p>
<p>"Sure sure," Hanso grumbled as the doctor departed. "For the Earthling it's 'don't use that arm, you're free to go,' but for me it's 'stay in bed, you lost a chunk of a critical organ'…"</p>
<p>Looking from his sulk to Daniel's smirk, Sarial could only shake her head. <em>Golden Gods help us if they come to speak the same language.</em></p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sven had started to head towards the castle, but it hadn't lasted long. Soon he was just wandering—he wasn't sure <em>where</em> he was going, but he needed a moment alone to think. Though with a magic robot lion running around in his brain, he wasn't sure if he'd ever have an actual moment alone <em>again</em>. Ironically the lion was silent for once, but she was all Sven could think about. He needed to find her. And not just because that was the mission…</p>
<p>Every fiber of his being was telling him to find her. He just wished he had more to go on than <em>"we are where we are felt." </em>What was he supposed to do with that? Wander around just touching everything? That seemed unwise. Would it be more of an emotional sense than a physical one? Should he expect to start bawling his eyes out or something when he was near the lion? Was it like some magical version of 'hot and cold'?</p>
<p>The navigator pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. There were too many unknowns, too many what-ifs. He needed more information. Actually, he needed to stop thinking about it entirely. Moments alone were supposed to be peaceful, not plagued with frustration and questions. Taking a deep breath, Sven looked out and tried to focus on his current view.</p>
<p>It seemed he'd wandered to the lake outside the castle. It was beautiful; he couldn't look away. The water was practically crystal clear. The sounds of surrounding wildlife were bouncing off the water, creating a tranquil ambiance. If he were looking for peace, this would be the place to get it. Wouldn't it?</p>
<p>Sven narrowed his eyes; he wasn't feeling peace. He was feeling… anxiety? No. He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling, except that it was an urgent need to do… something. It was if the feeling were—</p>
<p>
  <em>The feeling.</em>
</p>
<p>He would have rolled his eyes, but that would mean looking away from the lake, which felt wrong. It felt wrong!</p>
<p>
  <em>No, that can't be it…</em>
</p>
<p>Suddenly there was a soft chuckling echoing in his mind, and he became certain that that was, in fact, it. He shook his head and started walking towards the water. "This is ridiculous." There was no way he was going to be able to swim to a giant robotic lion. That didn't even make sense. If she were easy to get to, she would have already been found!</p>
<p>But somehow, for some ridiculous reason, he was still taking off his shirt.</p>
<p>Leaving it and his shoes on the beach, Sven dove into the water.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sleep hadn't been much of a thing for Vince either, and he had to do something. So he found himself slowly making his way down the stone corridor of the guest wing. He nervously wrung his hands, desperately trying to remember which room Romelle had been given. She had grudgingly accompanied the others when they'd all left the <em>Falcon</em> earlier, but he doubted she was just wandering… he <em>needed</em> to talk to her. She'd been so calm with the ghosts, if anyone could help…</p>
<p>Pausing outside the door of the room that he thought was hers, he glanced back down the hall and considered giving up on this entirely. <em>I really shouldn't bother her… no, I need to do this. If I'm gonna keep seeing ghosts—</em>and he saw no reason he wouldn't keep seeing ghosts, at this stage—<em>I need to be prepared.</em></p>
<p>Sighing, he knocked before his courage completely fled.</p>
<p>The door opened swiftly, and he caught a glimpse of an angry expression on the runaway princess' face. It quickly vanished as she realized it wasn't an Arusian coming to bother her. In fact, she took a step back, staring at him in shock with her face flushed before finding her voice. She actually shook her head as if she was trying to remember her Common. "Um, hello, Vince."</p>
<p>Vince felt his own cheeks heat up; he looked at her awkwardly. "Uh, hi. I'm not bothering you, am I?"</p>
<p>"No. No, of… of course not." She felt a little guilty now. "Um. Please, come in."</p>
<p>As she moved aside, he stepped in and looked around. Her room wasn't much different than the one he'd been given, though at one time, it might have been a little nicer. <em>But,</em> <em>Drules.</em> No, no sense getting off on that tangent. He was here for a reason.</p>
<p>"So, um, I was hoping you might be able to… well…" He sighed. <em>Spit it out, Vince.</em> "I need to know everything you can tell me about ghosts. Please?"</p>
<p><em>Oh! </em>Romelle stared at him for a few awkward moments. Of all things, she hadn't expected that… but why shouldn't she have? "Well, not everyone can see them," she finally offered, sheepishly.</p>
<p>"I so miss being in that category."</p>
<p>Giggling softly, she moved to her bed and sat down. "I can understand that."</p>
<p>Vince followed and felt awkward as ever, just standing over her, but there wasn't really anywhere else to sit. "I never saw them on Earth. Course, on Earth they're usually vengeful and try to kill you." He scratched the back of his head. "At least in movies. That isn't real, is it?" <em>Please say it's not real</em>. The ones in the village hadn't <em>seemed</em> hostile.</p>
<p>"Most ghosts aren't dangerous." Romelle now had <em>questions</em> about Earthling ghost movies. "Most of the time, they're just wanting someone to talk to."</p>
<p><em>I can understand that.</em> "Huh. So, they're lonely?"</p>
<p>Nod. "That, or sometimes they're trapped and can't move on. Or they have a message."</p>
<p>"See, that's in horror movies, too." He frowned. "I really wish I didn't have… whatever these stupid powers are. The sparks were enough."</p>
<p>"Sparks?" As she asked it, an image came back to her. Blinding white light surging into the robeast. "Oh. Do you mean that thing you did in the…"</p>
<p>He flinched. She didn't have to say it, but his brain did it for him. …<em>the arena.</em> That one brief and violent second it had made sense, and then was gone. <em>Still</em> was gone. "Yeah, it's not usually so—big."</p>
<p>She nodded. "You have a gift, Vince."</p>
<p>A gift? Snort. <em>Hope someone kept the receipts.</em> "Doesn't feel like one. And things keep escalating in ways I don't like." He sighed. "Seeing ghosts doesn't bother you?"</p>
<p>"Not really, no. My mother—she saw them often. I kind of grew up with it."</p>
<p>"Really? Is it hereditary?"</p>
<p>Shrug. "Sometimes." She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. Asking about the precise mechanics of seeing ghosts had never been a priority; it was simply a thing that happened.</p>
<p>"Does it help you not miss her?" <em>Oh, great. Get her homesick, too, Vince. You don't even know a thing about her mom.</em></p>
<p>"In a way." Romelle hesitated. "My mother, she… she had a bad experience when my younger brother was born. They both almost died."</p>
<p><em>Wait, what?</em> Vince's eyes widened. "Oh… no. That's awful."</p>
<p>She looked up at him with a sad smile. "It is. My father had her locked away after that. She… she thought that all of us, her children, were dead. That <em>we</em> were ghosts."</p>
<p>Somehow, Vince was certain his eyes had gone still wider. "I'm sorry, that sounds horrible."</p>
<p>Romelle bowed her head slightly. "Thank you."</p>
<p><em>Back on topic, back on topic…</em> "So that's not usually how it happens?"</p>
<p>"No, not usually. The first time can be frightening—you've seen they look a bit eerie. It takes time to get used to them, is all."</p>
<p>"Definitely frightening," he agreed, a little shudder running down his spine.<em>I </em>hope <em>I'll get used to it, if it's gonna keep happening.</em></p>
<p>She watched him for a moment. It seemed like a good time to change her subject. And the way he'd asked that question earlier… "Do you miss your mother?"</p>
<p>Oh. Crap. "Yeah, I miss them both."</p>
<p>"Both?"</p>
<p>"I have two moms. And just, I miss them, and my grandmoms, a lot."</p>
<p>"Oh!" She nodded her understanding. "Do you want to talk about them? I'd be happy to listen." He really looked like he needed to talk, and she was curious what a <em>normal</em> family was like. A family that didn't have a planet to rule, didn't have a traumatized queen hidden away behind a tapestry, didn't send its children as offerings to conquering alien empires…</p>
<p>He smiled. "Both my moms are no-nonsense really, not at all like anyone on the team. Kind of miss it. My Grans are a bit nuttier, though—" He froze, blushing, unsure why he'd babbled all that out to her. She'd offered and he'd just <em>jumped</em>, apparently.</p>
<p>But she didn't seem to mind, watching him curiously. "Nuttier? Like the food?" That couldn't be, it made no sense.</p>
<p>Vince snorted. "It's slang, um… think Hunk but less. Actually, think all of them but less. Though, Hunk would love my Gran Diva. She's the reigning BBQ Queen in the state of Kansas." He blinked and added hurriedly, "That's, um, not like a royal queen or anything."</p>
<p>"A queen of Kansas." Romelle had no idea what a Kansas was, or a bee-bee-queue, though she'd heard Hunk mention the latter. Several times. "She must be formidable."</p>
<p><em>That's an understatement. </em>"Yeah, pretty much. Do you know what a motorcycle is?"</p>
<p>"Not exactly." It wasn't a word she'd heard before, but she could parse it. "Some sort of vehicle?"</p>
<p>"Yeah. It's got two wheels and is fast and super loud. She causes a ruckus every time she visits. Sometimes Granny Bea—that's her mom—comes with her on the back of it, in her flashy high heels. It's kind of hilarious."</p>
<p>Romelle stared at him, horrified. She was no engineer, but couldn't envision any way a two-wheeled vehicle might be stable. And these were his grandmothers? "A loud, fast, vehicle? With her mother?"</p>
<p>"Yeah."</p>
<p>"How—how old are they? Isn't that dangerous?"</p>
<p>To her surprise, Vince just chuckled. "Don't let <em>them</em> hear that question. Though my Ma definitely wishes they'd both settle down a bit. She's more cautious, actually gets along better with Mom's mom, my Granny Mel. She bakes the best cookies… I've been craving them."</p>
<p>"Those are flat sweets, right?" Food names weren't the easiest part of Common.</p>
<p>Nod. "Yeah, they're great. Really great." He sighed. Why in the world had he blurted so much out like this? But he really was missing them, and finally letting it out did help. At least a little. "Anyway, that's… if you can believe it, the sane part of my life."</p>
<p>Romelle slowly started to giggle, then cut it off with a horrified look. "Apologies. I shouldn't laugh about your family."</p>
<p>"No, it's all right. I've learned we all have quirks. I thought my Gran Diva and Granny Bea took the cake on it—you know, until I got put on an Explorer Team." He hesitated. "None of them are like me. Like <em>this</em>. They always thought the sparking thing was just a quirk that happened, not actually from <em>me</em>. They still don't know that. I might never tell them." <em>Or get the chance to…</em> "I hope I can see them all again."</p>
<p>"I'm sure you will, Vince." She looked out the window, frowning. <em>I hope everyone is all right at home.</em></p>
<p>Vince quietly watched her looking outside. "You'll see your family again, too, Romelle."</p>
<p>She looked back at him, a wistful smile on her face. "With me having come with you, I'm… not so sure, Vince."</p>
<p>Frown. They still didn't really know how Romelle had come to be with them, in need of escape. What exactly did it <em>mean</em> that she'd fallen out of favor? What did it mean for her family and her planet? "We wouldn't have made it without you, so, I'm pretty sure we'll help you however you need."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Vince. I appreciate that," she answered with a soft smile. She hoped he was right… about everything.</p>
<p>"Well, thanks for a bit more, uh… ghostly insight."</p>
<p>"You're welcome. If you have other questions, I'll do my best to answer them for you."</p>
<p>"I'm hoping not to really have to know too much about them, really, but thank you." He smiled faintly in return. "If anything else comes up, I'm sure you'll hear me screaming."</p>
<p>She giggled again. That was probably true.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith had wandered around outside of the castle, finally making his way to the northern side. There he could see the mountains shrouded in dark and ominous clouds. He sat down on a clear patch of grass and sighed.</p>
<p>
  <em>We are where we are felt.</em>
</p>
<p>Not exactly the most helpful statement. A clue of some sort, yes. <em>Helpful</em>, not by a long shot. "Lion of Storms," he muttered softly, watching lightning flicker in the clouds. "Yet I feel drawn towards those mountains. Or is it the storms above?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"It is my nature."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith jumped, hearing the low, rumbling voice in his head. It sounded stronger, clearer, and he swore it gave a purring chuckle at having startled him. "This speaking in my head thing is really <em>weird</em>, you know that?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will adapt. You have borne witness to stranger things."</em>
</p>
<p>Well, <em>that</em> was true. He sighed, closing his eyes and bowing his head, trying to clear his mind of thoughts. It had been some time since he last tried to meditate… there hadn't been a whole lot of opportunity.</p>
<p>
  <em>"There are things to do. Why do you rest?"</em>
</p>
<p>Keith frowned. "I'm not resting. It's called meditation. A way to calm and focus."</p>
<p>
  <em>"An interesting practice."</em>
</p>
<p>"It would work better if I could have some quiet."</p>
<p>The voice—the lion—chuckled and quieted, but its words still echoed in his thoughts. And damned if they would let him find his calm. Finally he sighed, got up and looked around for a stick or something he could use to do some katas. When all else failed, working out would help. Though the <em>meadow</em> was not exactly full of suitable candidates, he finally scrounged something from what might once have been a castle garden and began to stretch.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Coran had finally found a good quality sword—with a sheath! The sword was one of the few left in their stores; the sheath was the very last. If the offworlder really was as good as Coran believed him to be, he would appreciate having it. Smiling in satisfaction, he left the shelter's makeshift armory, followed by Miralna.</p>
<p>"So, let me ensure I understand this correctly. A ship full of alien strangers, mostly Earthlings, arrived a couple of days ago."</p>
<p>Coran nodded as they headed back into the castle. "Correct."</p>
<p>"The Princess believes they are important."</p>
<p>"Also correct."</p>
<p>"So, you're bringing one of them one of the best swords in our remaining stores, and our last sheath."</p>
<p>Coran chuckled. "No, I'm doing that because I like him."</p>
<p>She nodded; it wasn't her place to question his judgment. "And then you'd like me to have a ceremonial duel with him to ensure he's worthy."</p>
<p>"Yes. My instincts may say he can be trusted with it… however, basing actions solely on feelings is foolish." Arus' safety needed more than just his instincts.</p>
<p>Miralna thought about that for a moment and shrugged. "It's fair."</p>
<p>Pausing in the main hall, Coran considered the flaw in this plan. Where might the soldier be at a time like this? But if the Great Lions had something to do with them… he turned towards the doors and headed outside, moving in the direction of the mountains. With a grin, he saw at least this instinct had been correct; Keith was outside, seeming to be doing some form of exercise. With… a stick? Coran sighed as Miralna raised a questioning eyebrow. <em>Offworlders.</em></p>
<p>They watched him a few moments longer, noting he seemed extremely focused on his odd training. "Ahem."</p>
<p>Keith froze, turning his head towards the unexpected voice. "Oh. Um." He cleared his throat and lowered his impromptu weapon. "I was just, uh, practicing."</p>
<p>Nodding, Coran decided not to ask any further. There were other matters to attend to; he held out the sheathed sword. "We were able to procure you a sword."</p>
<p><em>Really?</em> He was kind of stunned the older gentleman had actually seen fit to do so, especially so quickly. Accepting it gratefully, he let himself smile. "Thank you, Coran."</p>
<p>"You're welcome." He watched Keith unsheathe the sword and whistle softly, giving him a few moments to appreciate the weapon before speaking again. "And this is Miralna, one of our remaining Golden Knights." Switching over to Arusian, he looked at Miralna. "Miralna, this is Keith."</p>
<p>Miralna inclined her head to the Earthling. "Anenyo."</p>
<p>He nodded. "Pleasure to meet you, Miralna."</p>
<p>"Miralna isn't just here to see off the sword, of course. As you can imagine, we are low on weapons." He leaned on his cane. "We would like to assure ourselves that you know what you are doing with one of the few quality swords we have left."</p>
<p>Oh. That did make sense. Keith looked between Coran and the lady beside him; she did appear to have some military bearing. "Is she any good?"</p>
<p>"She is. Are you opposed to a friendly duel?"</p>
<p>"No, a friendly duel is fine."</p>
<p>"Excellent." He turned to Miralna to relay the acceptance.</p>
<p>She nodded and drew her personal blade from its sheath at her hip; of course she hadn't brought the sacred sword. It wasn't meant for playful sparring. She saluted Keith with her blade, receiving a salute in return. Coran stepped back, watching intently, curious as to how it would play out.</p>
<p>Miralna wasn't about to make the first move. Drawing her blade back she held it parallel to the ground, a common Arusian defensive stance. Keith dropped into one of his own usual stances, the sword pointed slightly up and diagonally across.</p>
<p>Still Miralna waited; this was going to be interesting. She hadn't fought anyone but other knights in such formal circumstances. She found his grip curious, but could see its efficiency… he knew what he was doing.</p>
<p>It was clear the knight was going to wait him out, so Keith tapped his sword against hers and darted back. Miralna stepped back as well, her eyes narrowing. He grinned. The sword was good, really good. He darted in again, looking to see just how good <em>she</em> really was.</p>
<p>She deflected his strike and caught his blade on her hilt, twisting to get an opening and slashing at him; her strike just barely missed as he jumped back out of range. Narrowing her eyes she took one more step back, studying, watching him. Defense was the cornerstone of offense, or so the Golden Knights were taught.</p>
<p>Keith darted in again, picking his targets carefully, feinting high and trying to cut under her guard.A tactic she'd seen before. She deflected it easily as he practically danced back from her, then took a couple of steps towards him. As she slashed out at him he blocked and danced away from her again. <em>He's quick. </em>Miralna wasn't <em>slow</em>, herself, but she was used to fighting in armor—wearing heavy steel plating tended to cut down on one's mobility, so the knights weren't trained to focus on it. This Earthling was very different.</p>
<p>Keith finished his spin, facing her again. He'd noticed her stable stance; she was fighting like she was used to sticking to defense. Advantage? Disadvantage? He wasn't sure. He did know that she was experienced, he could tell by the way she'd easily deflected his testing strikes. He darted towards her, swinging low towards her legs and up.</p>
<p>Miralna blocked it and smirked. Now it was on.</p>
<p>The two traded blows for awhile, along with some Japanese and Arusian curses—the latter making Coran quite happy that the young offworlder couldn't understand. He'd not have expected one of the Knights of Light to know language like that, though he supposed after the last few months she couldn't be blamed for it. Swearing aside, he watched not just the flow of the battle but every technical point—the leverage on the swords, the speed and believability of the feints. Everything.</p>
<p>The Earthling really was <em>good</em>. But so was his opponent.</p>
<p>Lunging again, Keith spun away and then shifted towards her, his sword up. Miralna stepped forward as he did, sidestepping and thrusting her own blade forward. But this was a duel, not a battle to the death; they both pulled their blows at the last moment</p>
<p>Keith froze, panting, the blade of his sword pressed lightly across her neck. Miralna glared back as she, too, froze, the tip of her own blade just touching his stomach. Both of their expressions softened slowly as the adrenaline started to fade; it was clear enough what was happening.</p>
<p>"Well, seems… we're at a draw, ma'am."</p>
<p>"Agreed," she answered once Coran translated, slowly drawing her sword back. Keith lowered his own sword, but lifted it in another salute before sheathing it.</p>
<p>Coran looked between them as they drew back, and Keith turned to him. "So, does that pass your test?"</p>
<p>Though Miralna didn't understand the question, she picked up on the inquisitive tone. And she did know what the goal of this had been. "Very few of the Knights of Light could defeat me in a duel, Lord Coran. If that has any bearing."</p>
<p>"It does. Thank you," Coran said with a nod to her. Switching to Common, he smiled at Keith. "Yes, I should say you've passed."</p>
<p>Keith nodded, and a laughing purr echoed through his mind. Fighting down the frown, he sheathed the sword and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Then he moved to Miralna, holding his hand out. "Thank you for the exercise."</p>
<p>Coran translated for her—he was going to be able to add <em>interpreter</em> to his long and varied resume here soon—as she shook Keith's hand. "We'll have to do that again sometime," she commented with a smile; he couldn't help a small smile of his own as he relayed it. It seemed like a good sign.</p>
<p>Keith grinned too, and nodded. "Any time." They turned to walk back into the castle, and he watched for a few moments before his eyes turned back to the mountains.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Well done, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Cub? He wasn't sure how he felt about—wait. Had the lion seen that, somehow? Shaking his head, he saw another crackle of lightning. <em>Are you—are you up there?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"I am where I am. You will find me in time."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>These people need you. Being cryptic isn't helpful!</em>
</p>
<p>The lion growled. <em>"We know. Yet you must prove yourselves. It cannot be avoided."</em></p>
<p>Keith sighed, shaking his head. "So <em>not</em> helpful." Annoyed, he turned to head back to the castle himself. At least now he had a sword.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sven burst up out of the water to take a breath. Nothing, absolutely nothing. The lake was deeper than it seemed; he had done some free diving back in Norway, he knew what he was about with this. But by the time he could even get a decent look at the bottom of the lake, he was having to swim back up for air.</p>
<p>The lake was also <em>huge</em>.</p>
<p><em>This is ridiculous</em>.</p>
<p>There was <em>no</em> way for him to search this whole lake thoroughly without equipment, but he couldn't seem to convince himself to stop. The feeling of urgency had not gone away when he'd entered the water—it had only gotten stronger. He could feel her. She was right here! Just nowhere he could see. He <em>had</em> to find her, his current method just wasn't cutting it.</p>
<p>His navigator brain probably could have thought of some better methods, if he were thinking more clearly. But clarity was reserved for the glittering lake right now. <em>He</em> was only getting more and more desperate.</p>
<p>Once again, he dove as deep as he dared and began searching for anything helpful. <em>We are where we are felt.</em> His earlier comparison to the game of 'hot and cold' flashed into his mind again. Would the feeling of urgency get more intense, the closer he got? He wanted to scream—no, that would be very unwise underwater. But there was no way for him to confirm that. It wasn't as if he had someone to ask—</p>
<p>Sven froze and rolled his eyes, then started back for the surface. He <em>did</em> have someone to ask. Whether or not she'd be cooperative was the real question. The last few days had taught him that she tended to be frustratingly vague and slightly argumentative… he heard an irritated huff in the back of his mind, and knew she was paying attention.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is there any chance you would be willing to help me find you?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"You must do this on your own."</em>
</p>
<p>Sven had never wanted to strangle a mystical being <em>in his mind</em> before, but that was rapidly becoming a constant state. <em>How am I supposed to do this on my own when I have no idea how this works?!</em> Mind-screaming was apparently something he could do now.</p>
<p>The lion was silent for a long moment before responding. <em>"Follow your feelings."</em></p>
<p>Sven was about to mind-yell again, because how the hell was <em>that</em> helpful, but he stopped instead. Did that mean he was right? The sense of urgency would get stronger the closer he got? He wanted to ask, but knew she wouldn't give him anything else. His only option was to swim around and find out through trial and error. Well, fine.</p>
<p>Surfacing and taking a few deep breaths, he turned and dove back down in the opposite direction. He hadn't been feeling anything different, the way he had been swimming so far. Not that it was changing in his new chosen direction either. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe <em>follow your feelings</em> was just a different way of saying the same thing they'd been saying all along.</p>
<p>He was about to give up and just deal with the illogical and ridiculous feeling of desperation, somehow, when he finally saw it. A shadow on the lake floor. Summoning his last reserves of effort, and oxygen, he swam ahead to try to see it better.</p>
<p>A huge, dark trench split the bottom of the lake. He couldn't make out how deep it went, or much of anything within it; there were hints of waving lake plants obscuring the edges. But it didn't matter. She was <em>there</em>. He knew it. He wasn't quite sure how he knew, but he knew. Now he just had to figure out how he was going to get there…</p>
<p>…Great.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Returning to his Pride, it turned out, involved pain. By the time Pidge made it out of the forest, the sun was pouring down—had he actually been out there all night? Maybe he shouldn't be surprised. And not only was the sun bright, it was at his back, exactly where he needed it not to be.</p>
<p>He was in a very foul mood by the time he returned to the <em>Falcon</em>. Finding Hunk there, sitting on the boarding ramp, did not improve that one bit.</p>
<p>Not that he remained sitting; as soon as he caught sight of the approaching ninja he jumped up, eyes wide. "Pidge! Where've you <em>been?!"</em></p>
<p>Hell of a question, that. "Exploring." He didn't care to admit much beyond that, and it wasn't entirely a lie. Ducking beneath the <em>Xaela's</em> undercarriage and sighing in relief at the shade, he did his best to <em>not</em> tell the big goofball to fuck off. The last thing he wanted was to talk to anyone right now, and yet…</p>
<p>
  <em>Return to your Pride…</em>
</p>
<p>"Exploring?" Hunk repeated, staring at him. "Dude, we've been <em>worried</em>."</p>
<p>"Sure you have, idiot." No, that was <em>not</em> the correct answer; he made a face as soon as he snapped it, and heard a soft growl of reproach. "I mean, komora… did I miss anything?"</p>
<p>"We had dinner with the princess?" That sounded like a no. "She uh, told us about five mythical lions that used to chillax near the castle but now they're all asleep." Oh. <em>That</em> sounded like a yes.</p>
<p>"Is one of them green?" he asked as casually as he could. "Related to wind? Lives in the forest?" Feeling her purr in his mind, he added through gritted teeth, "Completely insufferable?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Now that seems a bit harsh, cub."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Wait, you're here too?! Maybe I wasn't harsh </em>enough<em>.</em></p>
<p>The growl was amused. <em>"I'm wounded."</em></p>
<p>Hunk was staring at him as though the world suddenly made sense… which it certainly didn't, though this brought it the slightest bit closer. "Uhh, ninja. Have you been talkin' to a mysterious voice in your head that you haven't told us about?"</p>
<p>"Not," <em>that I've been willing to admit to myself,</em> "until a few hours ago."</p>
<p><em>Holy fuzzmuffins</em>. All Hunk could do was stare. Of course it was Pidge. How the hell was it Pidge? He shook his head to try to stop it from spinning, and settled on the only thing he felt sure about. "You've gotta tell Keith!"</p>
<p>That was probably true. "Is he on the ship?"</p>
<p>"Uh, don't think so." Hunk frowned. "Last I saw 'im he was headin' for the castle. Most of the others went over early, mighta scattered since…" He grimaced. "I, uh, am kinda avoidin' rocks right now. And the castle, y'know…"</p>
<p>"…Is a lot of rocks," Pidge agreed. "It's okay, I'll find him." He stepped out of the shade and turned toward the castle. Then he hesitated a moment—sun on his shoulderblade and all—looking back at the big engineer and feeling a wave of guilt run through him. "…Sorry I called you an idiot. You're obviously not."</p>
<p>An unimaginably irritating goofball? Yes. But an idiot wouldn't have gotten them here on engines none of them understood—and an idiot <em>probably</em> wouldn't have called him out quite so quickly about the lion.</p>
<p>Besides… <em>why </em>not <em>try being nice to him, for once. See where it gets you</em>. He felt the lion's purr again at the thought, and considered suggesting where she could shove it. But that, too, would not qualify as manners.</p>
<p>Watching Pidge go, Hunk blinked in confusion. <em>Wait, huh? What the hell was that?</em> He obviously wasn't an idiot, when did that happen? Of course Big Dumb Hunk was an idiot! It didn't bother him, it was the point of this whole…</p>
<p>This whole…</p>
<p><em>"This whole what?"</em> the Lion of Earth asked smugly.</p>
<p>"…Absolutely nothin'," he retorted, but he knew he'd lost that round. <em>Hell</em>. It felt almost like the logical track for all of this to take. First the team had a traumatic experience, then he had to take over the engine bay, now he was being mistaken for a responsible adult. But he was supposed to <em>get over</em> it, not have some mythical robot nail him to the wall about it.</p>
<p>Hell no. He didn't <em>want</em> this.</p>
<p>Hunk frowned, looking in the direction of the forest. Even from here he could just vaguely see the trees swaying… in the wind. The Lion of Wind lived there…</p>
<p><em>We are where we are felt</em>.</p>
<p>He hesitated. The Lion of Earth felt like rocks. Like <em>earth</em>. Made sense. Turning to face the distant mountains, he focused and quietly shook his head. No, he didn't feel like mountains, exactly. Mountains were as much sky as ground, in a way. Weren't they?</p>
<p>The Earth… was patient, or so he'd heard. That didn't help him. <em>Or does it.</em> Closing his eyes, he tried to remember everything, <em>feel</em> everything. The growl, like rolling gravel or shattering stone. Something deep and ancient.</p>
<p>For some reason, his mind drifted back to home. He let it, and heard the growl as he followed his thoughts. The summer trips up to Cannon Beach, the feel of the sand crunching and shifting beneath his feet as he ran for the waves. The sound of it. Like gravel in a way, but…</p>
<p>Sand…</p>
<p>…Hadn't there been a desert?</p>
<p>Eyes narrowed, he looked to what he was pretty sure was the southeast. There was emptiness on the horizon, and pale, distant hills. Dunes. <em>That's it</em>. He knew the desert was there. He could <em>feel</em> it.</p>
<p>
  <em>We are where we are felt.</em>
</p>
<p>"Fine," he whispered. "You wanna keep talkin'? Let's talk face to face."</p>
<p>The voice in his mind didn't answer that. Whatever. He was going to find it. They'd have this damn talk on his terms, for once.</p>
<p><em>Where are </em>you <em>hiding?</em></p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, he started forward.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Knight of the Earth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pidge was rapidly becoming frustrated again—or was it still? He was a ninja. His specialty was hiding, not seeking. And so far, he'd been unable to find his commander in… a large alien castle he'd barely spent any time exploring. Stunning, that. He had, after a few wrong turns, succeeded in finding the guest wing again—doubtful Keith was just hanging around his room, but it was worth a try.</p>
<p>As he moved down the corridor, one of the more intact doors opened up. Romelle was tired of hiding in her room, just hoping to avoid any further awkward encounters with the Arusians. She was going to go back to the <em>Falcon</em>, or look around the meadow, or something. But all those thoughts vanished as she shut the door and looked up to see—</p>
<p>"Pidge?"</p>
<p>Startled, he pulled his knife and dropped into a defensive stance; then he realized who he was looking at and lowered the knife just as quickly. "Oh. Hi…?" Hunk had said that everyone was worried about him. "Sorry."</p>
<p>Romelle smiled. There was something oddly endearing about him when he wasn't glaring at her. "No, don't be. I'm—I'm glad you're back and safe."</p>
<p>Snort. "You don't have to pretend you like me." Then he winced again; he was not doing especially well at this <em>attempting to be nicer</em> thing. In fairness, he was still reeling from a giant mechanical cat lecturing him in a way that made him think being nicer might help.</p>
<p>She took a step back at his hostile tone; the not-glaring hadn't lasted long. "Why would I pretend? You're a lot less strange than…" She waved her hand around, indicating the castle in general, trusting he'd at least understand that.</p>
<p>"…Komora?" He stared at her, puzzled. The thought that <em>she</em> might actually like him was beyond his comprehension. "Because of manners, or my lack of them?"</p>
<p>"I have learned of late," she admitted quietly, "to put a bit less stock in <em>appearances."</em> It hadn't been manners that had gotten her here; she shook her head. "Arusians are just so… naïve."</p>
<p>"…Earthlings are like that, too." Sigh. "Cute, but not always optimal."</p>
<p>Romelle sighed too. Perhaps 'cute' was a good way to describe how Pollux looked at their cousins in general. A quiet—or sometimes loud—condescension towards these childish fools they'd left behind. "Yes. How… how have you learned to deal with them?"</p>
<p>Pidge cast a wary look at her; he was not entirely convinced she was any better, but what did he know? He snorted and pushed that aside. "I haven't, or I wouldn't be here." Green Lion growled softly. It sounded like a rebuke, but also reassurance. Which was strange and slightly irritating…</p>
<p>Before he could say anything more, Romelle bowed her head. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry that you have had such a difficult time with them. I wish I understood better. Earthlings <em>or</em> Arusians, honestly."</p>
<p>Memories assaulted Pidge then. Flynn… but more of what Flynn <em>did.</em> What had always infuriated him, but why? Because he didn't know how to deal with it, because nobody had ever… though Vince had tried it, too. Even worked once or twice. And conscious realization abruptly hit him, why the hell he was trying this <em>being nice</em> thing at all…</p>
<p>"…You <em>can't</em> learn to deal with them. Not on your own."</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" She studied him curiously, head tilted to one side. "Not on my own?"</p>
<p>He shook his head. "Unless you can make yourself become just like them. The ones I knew—know how to work with, are the ones who tried to figure out how to work with <em>me</em>…" Guilt washed over him as he thought of Hunk. "…if I let them try."</p>
<p>"Hmm." <em>Let</em> them try? "That's an interesting thought, for sure."</p>
<p>Pidge cast a quick glance at her, then lowered his eyes. "It's still not easy."</p>
<p>Nod. "I can understand that. There's been such a… hatred, between Arus and Pollux. I'm not sure how to even get over that gap."</p>
<p>"If they reach out, let them." Green Lion growled approvingly, and he let that guide him. "I don't know what most Arusians are like, but most humans don't bother to <em>try</em>. The ones that do are…" …<em>special?</em> "…important."</p>
<p>Slowly, Romelle nodded. Princess Allura <em>had</em> reached out to her. "I will take what you've said into consideration. Arusians and humans are so strange, but they can't all be so incomprehensible, right?" Pidge silently nodded his agreement, looking distracted for a moment; she decided that was a sign to move on. "Well, um, I'm glad to see you're back. The others were worried about you."</p>
<p>He nodded again. "I'm trying to find Keith to report to him, but," he held up a hand to stop anything she might have said, "I'd rather find him on my own. I think wandering is helping me, I don't know…" …<em>Process</em>.</p>
<p>"I'm sure he'll understand." She smiled again. "So much strangeness here."</p>
<p>Snort. "Isn't <em>that</em> the truth." He rolled his eyes as Romelle left, hearing the lion chuckling in his head.</p>
<p>
  <em>Knock that off.</em>
</p>
<p>She did not.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The first time Hunk had learned the value of masks had been in third grade.</p>
<p>—"Hey Chunk, get off the swing!"</p>
<p>He'd ignored the altered nickname. Like always. "It's still my turn!" He hardly ever played on the swingset. Being on the swing meant taking turns, and that meant being around his classmates, and that meant they called him Chunk and tried to make him feel bad.</p>
<p>Like this.</p>
<p>"Teacher said you can't stay as long." Bray had been sneering, the best an eight-year-old could sneer. "You'll break it."</p>
<p><em>Yeah?</em> He'd stopped swinging, but didn't move. It seemed like a shorter time limit on the swing was something he'd have been told about. It seemed a lot more likely Bray was just being mean, again.</p>
<p>"Get off the swing!"</p>
<p>He didn't feel like moving. He didn't feel like seeing that stupid smirky face win again. His brothers had told him to stop letting the bullies bother him, might as well start now. "Make me."</p>
<p>That had given him pause, which had only convinced Hunk it was just more of the usual. He was going to stay here until the timer beeped for the next turn or a teacher came to make him leave.</p>
<p>But the pause didn't last. Bray walked up and tried to shove him out of the swing—in retrospect, third graders didn't know a lot about physics. He went exactly nowhere. The second and third attempts hadn't gone any better, and then he'd run out of patience and shoved him away. Lightly.</p>
<p>Stumbling back, Bray had yelled at the top of his lungs. It wasn't calling for a teacher—who probably would've sided with him. But no, third graders didn't <em>tattle</em>. Third graders did their own dirty work.</p>
<p>"Hey look everyone, Chunk's stuck in the swing!"</p>
<p>It felt like it had gone through the whole playground in a split second. Probably hadn't really. His eight-year-old self hadn't been counting. What had held his attention was the laughter, the echoing of the taunt as his classmates gathered, causing enough of a commotion as he shrank back in the swing—uselessly, as always, he was too big to hide—to cause a teacher to come running anyway.</p>
<p>"Tsuyoshi, what's the matter?"</p>
<p>Before he could find an answer, Bray had jumped in. Of course he had. "Chunk wouldn't get out of the swing, maybe he's stuck."</p>
<p>"Bray, <em>be nice</em>. But Tsuyoshi, if you aren't going to swing, you ought to let someone else use it."</p>
<p>"Yeah, <em>Hugeyoshi</em>. Get off of the swing!"—</p>
<p>Hunk did not remember making a decision. He just remembered the overwhelming sense of unfairness, and then he was on his feet and lunging. The sharp <em>crack</em>. It was the first time he'd ever really hit anyone, and he'd done a hell of a job.</p>
<p>Bray hadn't said another word for six weeks—enforced by the wires in his jaw. And Hunk had learned two things: first that breaking jaws was only worth it in the most extreme circumstances. Never on his own behalf, anyway, and that much he'd managed to stick to.</p>
<p>Second, that it was very helpful if the other kids <em>thought</em> he'd do it again.</p>
<p>That had been the first mask. Chunk, the angry loner, who might shut you up with a quickness if you pushed him too far. But being treated like a ticking time bomb was no way to live…</p>
<p>
  <em>What are you hiding?</em>
</p>
<p>He'd made a choice. <em>Laugh with 'em.</em> Play along. Why not? It was easier that way, safer for everyone. If he kept telling himself it didn't bother him, maybe it would stop—or maybe, at least, <em>they</em> would stop.</p>
<p>The mask had been exhausting at first. He'd <em>worked</em> at it. And eventually, it had turned out class clowns got bullied and feared a lot less than the huge quiet kid in the corner. Class clowns even made friends!</p>
<p>…Kind of. When he'd left there for college and the Academy, he'd damn well never looked back.</p>
<p>It had been the same thing there, anyway. Nobody expected to see <em>him</em> walking into molecular chemodynamics. He was supposed to be some muscles-for-brains moron. Fine. He could be that. Just a big idiot who thought <em>kabooms</em> were cool. And so long as he stuck to the mask, he was in on the joke.</p>
<p>But somewhere, he really <em>had</em> gotten in on the joke. It was fun to not worry, to not care. To just be Big Dumb Hunk and not have to <em>think</em> so damn much. Maybe he'd become the mask.</p>
<p>And now some damn magic lion wanted to take it away? Hell no.</p>
<p>It had been a long walk from the <em>Falcon</em>, but he was close now. The sand was in sight, an endless expanse of glittering dunes and swirls beneath the Arusian sun. For the briefest moment, he thought better of this whole thing—shouldn't he at least have brought some water? Whoops.</p>
<p>Screw it. Big Dumb Hunk didn't think better of things. So he brushed it aside, and moved on.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>His teammate may have forgotten about water. Sven was making up for that in <em>spades</em>. Would it be in spades, if it was water? In buckets? In ladles?</p>
<p>In—heavens forbid—<em>spoons?</em></p>
<p>Whatever. He'd finally returned to the shore, dripping wet and glaring at the lake which was quickly becoming the bane of his existence.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are very dramatic. My lake is the bane of nothing."</em>
</p>
<p>"I'm not <em>speaking</em> to you at the moment," he announced with a frustrated scowl as he pulled his shirt back on. "Please take the hint."</p>
<p><em>"I've done nothing to deserve such ire,"</em> she answered, and he felt his eye twitch.</p>
<p>"You've been quite unhelpful in a task you want me to complete."</p>
<p>
  <em>"It is your task. Telling you how to complete it would defeat its purpose."</em>
</p>
<p>Sven's eye twitched again, though he had to confess she hadn't sounded <em>quite</em> as smug as she could have. Maybe that was how he managed to push his annoyance down and ask a question. <em>The</em> question, really. "Which is?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will learn."</em>
</p>
<p>…Of course. "Infuriating—" He was cut off by the water rippling and splashing him, and something poking up from the lake's surface. First it was a spiral shell, glossy and pale beige. Then more shells, some of which were swirled with brilliant colors. As he watched the shells, muted beige tentacles started popping up around them, waving in a way that could've been seen as friendly if that weren't completely insane. But then, 'completely insane' was the rule around here. "What on Earth—on Arus are those?"</p>
<p><em>"My companions,"</em> the lion answered simply. One of the shells tilted upwards just enough for him to see two dark, beady eyes peering at him.</p>
<p>"Your—you are friends with… octopus snails?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes."</em>
</p>
<p>Well, at least for once he'd gotten an unequivocal answer to something, he supposed. Not one that helped him with anything at <em>all</em>, but an answer nonetheless. A couple more of the octopus snails shifted to get a look at him, and though he wasn't about to say so out loud, he couldn't help but think that they were kind of ugly.</p>
<p>The Lion of Water gave a sharp, indignant growl.</p>
<p><em>Oh for…</em> "I apologize," he said with a wince, then scowled at the water. <em>Though in my defense, if you hadn't been invading the privacy of my </em>mind<em>, you wouldn't have heard that.</em></p>
<p>The lion growled again, though slightly less indignant, and he rolled his eyes. Why did he feel guilty for insulting an infuriating lion robot's pet octopus snails? In his own personal thoughts? But he did, somehow. Surrendering to the inevitable, he reached out to pet a couple of them; they wrapped and unwrapped their tentacles around his hand in response. It was all very bizarre even by current standards, but he felt her purring. Still angry, yet appreciative.</p>
<p>That was the scene Larmina walked up on. Her first study session with Nanny had been cut short by some storage issue in the shelter—thankfully, since it had taken exactly three minutes for it to start going poorly. Apparently, reading a book while sitting with incorrect posture made her <em>unserious about learning</em>. But she'd stuck with the reading for a bit, while sitting badly hunched over out of spite… and that had eventually started to hurt, so she'd gone for a run.</p>
<p>And oh, look! An offworlder!</p>
<p>Why wouldn't there be, <em>really</em>.</p>
<p>Well, she wasn't going to let some Earthling chase her off her jogging route. He seemed pretty preoccupied, anyway, staring at the water and talking to himself and… <em>wait, are those…?</em></p>
<p>Pausing a little ways behind him, she took note of two things. First was that the offworlder was dripping wet. Second was that a whole cluster of gorcas—and even some Launi!—were peeking out of the water around him. Larmina had never seen a gorca willingly surface before, though she remembered hearing some rumors a few months ago of them swarming the beach.</p>
<p>"Bad idea swimming," she informed him before she could stop herself, then blinked as she realized what <em>else</em> he was doing. "Badder," no, that wasn't right, she'd just read—"Worse idea petting."</p>
<p>Sven didn't jump; he hadn't heard anyone approach, and the sun was not at the correct angle to see a shadow. He was just way past being startled by now. Turning, he saw the redhead from dinner—Larmina, hadn't it been? "I agree with you on the swimming," he acknowledged, frowning back at the lake. "I don't seem to have much of a choice, though."</p>
<p>"No?" She'd have happily thrown any of the offworlders in the lake—well, maybe except the big one, he seemed somewhat tolerable—not to mention, <em>good luck</em>—in any case she wasn't against the idea, but nobody had asked her.</p>
<p>"No." He hesitated a moment, debating whether he should elaborate. But… the Princess clearly knew something, maybe the Lady did too. And it felt obvious they were all on a collision course over Voltron sooner or later. "I have to find something, or someone, and they're down there…" Eyeing the octopus snails, he gave a small scoff. "And I would heed your advice on the petting, seeing as you'd know better than me, but apparently I need to make amends."</p>
<p>Larmina snorted; it didn't take much to guess what was going on here. And she had <em>thoughts</em>, but nobody had asked for those either. "Wants you pet poison fish. Nice someone." Unlike with the lizards, she wasn't lying about that one.</p>
<p>Exaggerating? A bit. Lying? No!</p>
<p>Sven yanked his hand back. <em>Poison?</em> he demanded in his mind. <em>You're letting me pet poisonous octopus snails?</em></p>
<p><em>"Only when eaten,"</em> the lion answered with perfect serenity. <em>"Or distressed."</em></p>
<p>…So, being nice to them was important. He supposed that made him feel a little better. "Not sure if I'd call her nice," he said in response to Larmina, and smirked a little as he heard the lion huff.</p>
<p>Scoffing, Larmina opted not to answer that; <em>she</em> wouldn't know. She was lucky she knew what he was talking about at all. As she grumbled to herself, Sven scooted forward a little, sitting in the shallows and letting the creatures swarm him. Even more of them surfaced in response, though the offended lion said nothing.</p>
<p>"Worser idea," Larmina murmured under her breath.</p>
<p>She was probably right, but there wasn't much to be done for it. Sven looked up at her and decided, prickly nobility or not, he was going to have a semi-normal conversation with <em>somebody</em>, dammit. He could deal with prickly, he'd been friends with Jace…</p>
<p>"Your Common is quite good," he offered. It was clear she was struggling with it, and did he ever remember <em>that</em>. "I wasn't expecting anyone here to know it."</p>
<p>Her turquoise eyes narrowed immediately. "Don't need mocking. Know it needs work."</p>
<p>Sven blinked; okay, she was <em>really</em> prickly. "I was not mocking," he answered in a stern tone that wasn't <em>wholly</em> unlike his mother. "Common is not my first language and it's a bitch to learn. The fact that you can articulate coherent sentences at all is an accomplishment."</p>
<p>"Bitch?" she echoed under her breath; that wasn't a word she knew, and the way he'd said it, it sounded like a useful one. Then she shook it aside. "Royal education," she explained. "Comprehensive." <em>Me paying attention, not always so comprehensive, but hey</em>.</p>
<p>"If it's anything like finishing school, I'm sure it is," Sven muttered to himself.</p>
<p>Larmina hadn't really heard him, and was preoccupied with something else that didn't make sense. "You learned Common? Aren't you Earthling?"</p>
<p>It wasn't an unusual question; speaking Common English did not imply knowing anything about the race—or even the faction—where it had originated. "Yes. But not every Earthling speaks Common at all, and not many grow up with it as a first language. There are thousands of languages spoken by humans; I grew up in Norway, and my native language is Norwegian."</p>
<p>"Oh." She nodded, mostly following. Whatever a Norway was, it didn't sound as useful as 'bitch', so she didn't ask. "You seem more nice than lizard hunters."</p>
<p>"Lizard hunte—oh! Thank you." He paused a moment to detach one of the octopus snails that had climbed up to his chest, because <em>absolutely not</em>. "They're not as bad as they seem." <em>Are they, though?</em> "Well, one of them is, but he's mostly harmless. Just really likes reptiles." He could practically hear Daniel and Lance arguing about Bokar.</p>
<p>Snorting, Larmina watched him peel the gorca off—it really didn't want to go—and debated the merits of being nice herself. Politeness would make Nanny happy, which was an excellent argument against it. But helping the offworlders would make Auntie happy, which was a better argument for it.</p>
<p>Well, why not. "Called gorca," she informed him, pointing to the swarming creatures. "Bright ones Launi. Very poisonous. Others Paukon. Safe but boring." Why was she always teaching offworlders about the wildlife?</p>
<p>"Gorca," Sven repeated, looking at the octopus snails. It did kind of suit them. "Launi and Paukon." He could handle that. "Thank you."</p>
<p>"You're… well?"</p>
<p>He hid a small smile that she'd probably take the wrong way; that was incorrect for <em>multiple</em> reasons right now. "If you'd like help with your Common, let me know. I'm fairly proficient and I know very well how hard it is to learn." A sly grin tugged at his lips. "I'll even teach you all of the bad words that I'm sure your royal education won't."</p>
<p>Now he could hear someone else. <em>I'm so proud of you, Viking</em>.</p>
<p>Larmina's eyes lit up immediately. This was definitely something she could work with. Looking to the sky, she gestured widely. "Drules—<em>sinycka</em>. Very rude." She gave a solemn nod. "Like they deserve."</p>
<p>"Drules are sinycka," he repeated, nodding his own understanding. "If you want to be extra rude, you could use 'fucking sinycka', I would think. Just like they deserve." He was enabling very bad behavior right now, and he wasn't the least bit ashamed.</p>
<p>"Fucking sinycka," she echoed, and her grin widened. "I like. Thanks." As she spoke, a couple of the Launi gorcas were trying to crawl up into Sven's lap, much to his obvious discomfort. Best to leave him to that. "Should keep on my run. Good lucking petting fish for water lion." With a cheerful wave, she jogged off.</p>
<p>…She did know something! "Thank you, I'll need it," Sven murmured as she left, then turned to look back at the gorcas. He half expected to hear from the lion again, but there was only silence. Which he'd thought he wanted, but…</p>
<p>Shaking his head, he patted one of the Paukon and sighed. Octopus snail appreciation it was.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith had climbed one of the tallest towers. One that overlooked the mountains to the north, that were covered with clouds that seemed to keep calling him. He placed his hands on the edge of the battlement, leaning against it. <em>How do I find you?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"You will know in time."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith closed his eyes and bowed his head. So unhelpful, but if this had to be the way it had to be…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Patience."</em>
</p>
<p>"I'm trying, believe me." He was answered with a chuckling purr. He looked back to the mountains, watching the clouds and the lightning. "Patience." How was he supposed to be patient, with all that was at stake?</p>
<p>Patience was not coming easily to Allura either—how could it? She still hadn't spoken to the man from her vision, and it was making her anxious. Coran approved of him, but… he'd been quiet at the dinner, when so many of his companions had clearly been hearing whispers. Had she been wrong?</p>
<p>No. She had hope, she <em>believed</em>. But she had to see it for certain. <em>We need the Great Lions to wake. Please, be the answer to our prayers…</em></p>
<p>"Are you sure you saw him come up here, Chitter?" she asked the mouse perched carefully on her shoulder.</p>
<p>It replied with a confident <em>chitter-squeak</em> that may have had some bearing on its name.</p>
<p>"All right," she murmured and kept climbing. Reaching the top, she quietly cracked open the door and peeked outside. Then, with a smile, she glanced at the mouse again. "You were right. I owe you a treat, my friend." It would have to wait. For now, she pushed it open the rest of the way and stepped to the battlement beside Keith, looking out at the mountains.</p>
<p>He'd heard her footsteps, and looked over at her as she joined him. "Hello, Princess."</p>
<p>She looked up at him and smiled. "A beautiful view, don't you think?"</p>
<p>Nodding, he couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like without the scorched patches and wreckage. "Probably better if the Drules hadn't destroyed so much?"</p>
<p>Allura looked down at the landscape between the castle and the mountains, sadness entering her eyes. "Indeed." A long, slow sigh escaped her. "No matter what, we'll come back. Rebuild everything to its old splendor once more."</p>
<p>That determination was admirable… he watched her for a few moments, in silence, before turning his gaze back to the mountains. "What can you tell me about those mountains with the clouds?"</p>
<p>No question which mountains he was referring to. The aura of the Lion of Storms, her vision… she felt something like relief flooding through her. "That is known as the Thunder Ridge. A harsh bit of terrain cut from the Kyva Mountains by the river. The peaks are almost constantly covered in storms."</p>
<p>"So, one could be up there," Keith whispered.</p>
<p>Allura glanced at him, fighting to hide her excitement as the relief became certainty. <em>He </em>is <em>hearing Black Lion. I knew it.</em> "One what?"</p>
<p>"The Storm Lion. I think he's up there."</p>
<p>"Oh, really? Mmm, it does seem like a place he might like." It ached not to be able to say more. She wanted to confirm it, she wanted to tell him everything—no! She knew she mustn't. "It's said if one did get to the top of the peaks, there is a grand and endless view to stand guard over… but I doubt that, due to the clouds and other things." She looked back to him. "Are you thinking of going there, perhaps trying to find him?"</p>
<p>That… had not been subtle, but it had certainly been a <em>nudge</em>.</p>
<p>He frowned. "I was told… patience."</p>
<p>"Hmm." She tapped her chin. <em>Would Black mind if I lead him to the paths?</em> She didn't have to tell him <em>which</em> path led to the Lion of Storms. She <em>didn't</em> have to tell him a great many things. But…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Go ahead, Daughter of Arus. Let me see what he does with that knowledge."</em>
</p>
<p>She nodded. "I might know of a path or two."</p>
<p><em>What?</em> Keith startled a little. <em>It can't be that easy, can it?</em> "…Where might these paths be?"</p>
<p>Immediately the princess' expression became purely businesslike. "Follow me, but make sure no one is behind us." She turned and led him back into the castle proper, through rubble-filled corridors and what may have been an emergency staircase, and down to the lower areas of the castle. In a room that was now wholly unidentifiable as to its purpose, she walked to a hidden panel in the wall; air hissed out as she opened it, ruffling her hair.</p>
<p>Keith paused and checked behind them, before following her into the darkness. The architecture here seemed immediately different from the rest of the castle, leading them deep underground. "Wow…" There had been other mentions of tunnels. "Is this where you hid from the invasion?"</p>
<p>She looked back over her shoulder; the golden markings on her cheeks seemed almost luminous in the dim light. "Sort of. We have many of these underground tunnels, leading to many places and for many purposes. But this one is special." She pulled a light from her pocket as the ground evened out, revealing what lay ahead.</p>
<p>Keith's jaw dropped.</p>
<p>A huge artificial cavern stretched before them. Five shuttles were clustered in the middle, settled in launch mechanisms that wouldn't have looked out of place in an Alliance carrier bay—it was like nothing they'd yet seen on this planet, nothing they'd even had cause to imagine. But the instruments around them were dim and silent; no doubt power had been cut to this place long ago. Each shuttle faced what looked like a tunnel opening, but the light didn't extend far enough to get any sense where they led.</p>
<p>"Whoa." What else could he say?</p>
<p>"Only a very select few have ever been in this area. In fact, you may be the first person outside of the House of Raimon since these tunnels were built to lay eyes on them."</p>
<p>Keith stopped in front of one tunnel, looking down into the darkness. He shivered. The static was so strong just standing here, yet it didn't feel… <em>right</em>, somehow. "This is quite impressive." He paced around, looking down each tunnel, for all the good that did. He was drawn back to the one where the static felt strongest, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end…</p>
<p>Allura stood quietly in the center of the room, watching him. <em>What now?</em> He had stopped at the correct tunnel, but somehow she knew he shouldn't follow it. Not now.</p>
<p>Slowly, he turned away from the tunnel. No, it felt wrong. Too easy, too simple… <em>you must prove yourselves</em>. "I… don't think I should go this way. At least not yet." He shook his head and looked back at her. "You said there's another path?"</p>
<p>Nod. "It is a distance away, and it is quite dangerous. You will need to be well prepared, but I can lead you to it once you are ready…" She turned back to where they'd entered. "I can help you, at least in some small part. Come."</p>
<p>Keith cast one last look down the tunnel before turning to follow her. The growl was deep and clear in his mind, and the static danced. As if the Lion of Storms approved of his decision…</p>
<p>He would take it as a promising sign. He had to.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The desert was very, well… desert-y. Hunk didn't mind that. What was odd was how it had seemed to just <em>start </em>out of nowhere, like a knife had separated it from the grass behind him. Surely there was some logical reason for it, wasn't there? Something he'd know if he hadn't goofed off through most of geology.</p>
<p>"Won't be important, I said." He looked over his shoulder, the grass and hills almost completely invisible now. "Knowin' how which terrain got where ain't got much to do with blowin' stuff up, I said…"</p>
<p>Maybe it wasn't the biggest concern right now. But it was better than thinking about how featureless the expanse of sand was, wondering if he would even be able to find his way back out. Or, for that matter, watching the vultures circling overhead.</p>
<p>"Don't get your hopes up," he muttered grimly, and forged on.</p>
<p>At least the walk wasn't difficult. The sand was mostly flat, dotted occasionally with drifts, or cacti that bore shimmering red flowers. Hunk wasn't really stopping to look at the scenery, but had to admit it wasn't so bad out here at all.</p>
<p>If only he knew what he was <em>accomplishing</em> out here. He had no idea where he was going… yet for some reason, he didn't feel lost. And he had his suspicions about that.</p>
<p>"Here, kitty kitty kitty…"</p>
<p>
  <em>That's probably the wrong way to go about this, dude.</em>
</p>
<p>Almost the moment he finished thinking it, the earth shook violently around him. "Whoa! Hey!" He jumped back just as the sand split open in front of him, a massive chasm opening in the otherwise featureless desert. "Okay okay, I'm sorry!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do you think me so petty?"</em>
</p>
<p>And there he was. "Well you just threw a bottomless pit at me!" He glared at the pit in question. "And I may have ignored a lot of geography and geology and whatever but I know <em>that</em> ain't normal!"</p>
<p>The voice didn't address the point.<em>"Have you found what it is you're hiding?"</em></p>
<p>"…Nothing." Hunk narrowed his eyes, starting to walk along the edge of the chasm. "Already told you that."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Which of us are you lying to?"</em>
</p>
<p>He was sorely tempted to just walk away, and couldn't fully explain why he didn't. But he wasn't going to play along, either. "Why should I answer your questions? You ain't answered one of mine yet."</p>
<p>
  <em>"You have no faith."</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk drew up short, frowning at the pit. <em>Where the hell did that come from?</em> "Do you just like, say things at random?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are not ready for the answers. You have no faith."</em>
</p>
<p>"Uh huh." He returned to trying to circle the chasm. "And what are you wantin' me to believe in, exactly?"</p>
<p>That growl that was a lot like a chuckle echoed in his mind.<em>"It is not belief you lack. You followed my voice."</em></p>
<p>"Dude, you just <em>said</em>…" Hunk's protest trailed off as he realized he wasn't making any progress with the chasm. In fact, if he hadn't known better he'd have said it was actually getting bigger as he tried to follow it. "…Okay look, if you didn't want me here why the invitation?"</p>
<p><em>"Your conclusions are too harsh."</em> A shadow passed over him; a few vultures were taking notice of the proceedings. <em>"There is a path you must follow, if you would reach my den. The path is hidden. The path is faith."</em></p>
<p><em>His den?</em> That felt like information, but nothing he could really do anything with. "That plan can change if you keep this up, y'know."</p>
<p><em>"And yet you are still here." </em>It chuckled again. <em>"You </em>will <em>seek me out."</em></p>
<p>Hunk's eyes darkened. "You think this is funny, that it? Watchin' me stumble around lookin' for answers to your riddles?" He kicked a lump of sand into the pit, watching it vanish in the blackness. "Bet they don't even <em>have</em> real answers. This is just a big joke to you. That's why you let this planet die in the first—"</p>
<p>A roar erupted from the pit, shaking the earth, nearly flinging him to the ground. <em>"WE </em>ALLOWED <em>NO SUCH THING!"</em></p>
<p>Hunk stumbled back, staring wide-eyed at the chasm. "…Struck a nerve, huh? How do <em>you</em> like it?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You know nothing of which you speak. But you will learn."</em>
</p>
<p>"No." For the first time, the voice didn't have an immediate answer for that. Hunk stepped back to the edge of the chasm, glaring into the darkness. "I'm done playin' this game, jackass. You can find another pawn, or not. Go to hell."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah, there it is. Do you see it?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk hesitated just for a moment, then shook his head. <em>No. Don't.</em> "I said I'm done." He turned away, squinting into the distance, the castle now far beyond his view.</p>
<p><em>"Because you tire of the game? Or because you dislike what you become when you step onto the board?" </em>Hunk froze mid-step. <em>"Who are you, cub? What are you?"</em></p>
<p>…The question hurt. He was supposed to be long past that question affecting him, but the voice in his mind seemed to pierce straight through everything. "You know, obviously," he said quietly. "Why ask me?"</p>
<p><em>"I see what is hidden within you. The deeper things are buried, the greater the pressure. This is the way of the Earth. But what will you do with it? Will that which you've buried become coal, fuel for a consuming fire? Or a diamond, a beacon of light?" </em>The growl softened. <em>"I ask again, cub, what are you? Do </em>you <em>know?"</em></p>
<p>Slowly, Hunk found himself turning back to the chasm. "Do I know?" he echoed quietly. "You're meowin' up the wrong cactus there, dude."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Am I?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Yeah. You are. I know what I'm doing, okay? That what you want to hear?" He shook his head. "This wasn't an <em>accident</em>. Everyone's gonna figure I'm just the dumb muscle no matter what. May as well have some fun with it, yeah? I made my decision a long time ago." Again he scowled into the darkness, eyes narrowed. "I'm not hiding a damn thing. The mask's glued on. Leave it the hell alone."</p>
<p>
  <em>"And yet, if you'd truly become your mask, it wouldn't crack like glass when challenged. I am not the first to see."</em>
</p>
<p>…No. No he wasn't. There had been moments, but those moments had always thrown him just as badly as whoever saw through him. He wanted the damn mask intact. He <em>needed</em> it.</p>
<p>"What do you <em>want?"</em> he demanded.</p>
<p>As usual he didn't get an answer.<em>"You have no faith. In yourself, nor your Pride."</em></p>
<p><em>My Pride?!</em> "Dude. I've got teammates who mostly get along with me. Ain't got a <em>Pride</em>."</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are illustrating my point."</em>
</p>
<p>…He didn't have a good answer for that one.</p>
<p><em>"You wondered if you had a choice? You do. Perhaps you are not ready to make it, but here you are."</em> The soft growl echoed from the pit again. <em>"Reject my call if you will. Turn around. Return to the world and the life that requires the mask that you wear. Or choose faith… and come to me."</em></p>
<p>Hunk blinked. That was a hell of a thing to try to take in, even <em>with</em> everything else that had happened so far. "Wait, right now? What happened to the Earth bein' patient?"</p>
<p>No answer.</p>
<p>"…You gotta be kiddin' me."</p>
<p><em>Okay. Think. Since apparently he wants you to do that.</em> He clenched his fists, looking out over the sand. <em>But we don't know enough to think! </em>What the hell would it even mean if he went down there? There might be a robot lion. Good! Or was that even a good thing? They'd pretty much already determined that this was going to be a lot more complicated than just <em>find Voltron, bring it home</em>. The mission had changed. But what had it changed to?</p>
<p><em>We don't know </em>anything…</p>
<p>Realization dawned.</p>
<p>…<em>And that's why the path is faith.</em></p>
<p>"Okay." He took a deep breath, looking into the shadowy depths of the chasm. "But you make me regret this, I promise I'll find a way to make <em>you</em> regret it."</p>
<p>He stepped forward.</p>
<p>The chasm <em>wasn't</em>.</p>
<p>Part of him had expected pure illusion and solid earth, and that part was thrown off balance. The other part of him had expected nothingness, and he stumbled as his foot landed on something-ness. A rocky ledge had appeared about a foot beneath the level of the sand. More were appearing in the darkness, forming a rough stairway.</p>
<p>"Neat trick," he muttered, forging ahead into the darkness. If stepping into a bottomless pit hadn't stopped him, the creepy magical staircase sure wouldn't.</p>
<p>He started out counting the steps, but lost count at one hundred and twelve. It was enough to make the point anyway—the cavern he was walking into was massive. The bright sunlight of the desert was far behind him, only a faint glow following him this far. Just enough to see he was finally approaching the bottom.</p>
<p><em>Okay</em>…</p>
<p>It was enough light to see that the cavern was empty. Well, not exactly empty. There was a huge chunk of what looked like sandstone in the center, with a pair of large vultures perched on top. Any other situation and Hunk would've brushed it off as unimportant, but considering he'd been talking to the Lion of <em>Earth</em>, he suspected this was what he'd come to see.</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm here."</p>
<p><em>"Yes. I see you."</em> The voice gave a growl of amusement. <em>"You are unimpressed."</em></p>
<p>"Well the stair trick was neat. But you've been yakkin' at me nonstop, being all cryptic and ominous and stuff, and now you're just a big rock? Kinda anticlimactic, yeah?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"It would be. Come closer."</em>
</p>
<p>"You're bein' cryptic and ominous again." Hunk did as it said anyway. As he stepped forward he felt a tremor that he didn't really think was in the ground beneath him. It was something that seemed to echo on the rock voice's words in here, and lingered long after, reminding him he was probably totally insane.</p>
<p>Near the top of the huge rock, a gathering glow caught his eye. It was pale blue and seemed to be centered on two points deep within the stone, which…</p>
<p>Which…</p>
<p>…<em>Stone doesn't do that.</em></p>
<p>What he'd taken to be sandstone was suddenly flowing like sand. It poured down around him, drifting on the rough stone of the cavern floor, revealing glimpses of metal beneath. The vultures squawked and fluttered down to the stone, sitting on either side of him as he watched the sand finish falling away.</p>
<p>
  <em>What. The. Hell.</em>
</p>
<p>A huge metal cat was sitting sphinxlike in the center of the cavern, sand still trailing from several crevices in its form. It was both bulky and graceful, sleek silver limbs attached to a massive barrel chest sheathed in yellow armor. There was some sort of cannon on its broad back, a weapon Hunk couldn't identify.</p>
<p>He gave it the best once-over he could, but eye contact seemed like it might be wise. The lion had glowing blue eyes; a deep scar was visible in the armor over the left one. It had a sharply jutting jaw that somehow made it look gruff and a little endearing at the same time.</p>
<p>And it was <em>purring</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is this more to your liking, my cub?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk whispered the only thing that seemed appropriate at the moment. "Holy shit."</p>
<p><em>"I am the Yellow Lion, Lion of the Earth."</em> It growled softly, filling the cavern. <em>"And you will be my Knight of the Earth, from this day forward."</em></p>
<p><em>Wait, what? "</em>Okay, hold up there, dude. I just got here, yeah? Let's slow it down." He shook his head. "My name's Hunk."</p>
<p>The lion chuckled.<em>"Mortal names are so small and simple. You have time, cub. You will be the first… the Earth is the foundation."</em></p>
<p>Well, the cryptic and ominous hadn't changed. "Yeah, okay." He circled a little, trying to take in everything about the lion he could. It was an incredible machine, and he'd have been geeking out if only it hadn't been <em>talking to him</em>… as he came around the left shoulder he froze, his eyes tracing up to the joint. Set in the armor was a familiar symbol: the yellow anvil sigil from the stolen relic, from the temple.</p>
<p>
  <em>This is really…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"You still doubt."</em>
</p>
<p>"I have a <em>lot of doubts</em> right now, dude! Pretty sure you know what the original plan here was, considerin' you've growled at me about it."</p>
<p><em>"Yes."</em> It felt like the lion was watching him, somehow. <em>"You did not know what you sought. And what now?"</em></p>
<p>He made it back to the front and sighed, looking up at the huge silver claws. "I was gonna ask you that." Now that he was standing here, his earlier ideas felt… silly. "Tellin' the Arusians where you are and goin' home isn't gonna be a thing, is it?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is it?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Dude, you are <em>not helping!"</em></p>
<p>The Lion of Earth growled low, and he felt it seeming to echo from everywhere. <em>"Your choice must be your choice, cub. Is that not what you wished it to be?"</em></p>
<p>Wasn't it? Maybe. But if he'd understood what both the choices <em>were</em>, he'd have felt a lot better. "And say I wanted to… do whatever it is you need me to do." he asked finally. "Be your earth knight or whatever you said. What've I gotta do next?"</p>
<p><em>"…There is, as it happens, a small task I require of you. And it is one you can accomplish before you commit to anything further."</em> For the first time, the lion actually sounded a little apologetic. That was interesting, no doubt, though it <em>ought</em> to sound apologetic if it was asking him for a favor after all this. <em>"There is a key."</em></p>
<p>A key? "And lemme guess. It's hidden in the Cave of Wonders, past the Bottomless Pit of Despair, up the Towering Mountains of Evil Badness, and it'll be a long and dangerous quest but that's okay, cuz the Earth is patient."</p>
<p>Yellow Lion gave a puzzled growl. <em>"…No? It's down the tunnel behind me."</em></p>
<p>"Oh." Pacing around the lion again, Hunk saw the tunnel in question; he'd been a little too preoccupied to notice it before. "That's all?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"There is a complication."</em>
</p>
<p>"Of course there is."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I have recently come to share my den with an interloper. Unlike my feathery associates, it is not receptive to conversation."</em>
</p>
<p>Feathery associates? Hunk looked at the vultures, which looked back at him with what had to be the bird equivalent of raised eyebrows, and slowly raised one of his own. "Dude, you managed to get <em>my</em> unreceptive butt down here."</p>
<p>
  <em>"True, but the cave serpent lacks faith… and higher reasoning functions."</em>
</p>
<p>Cave serpent, that didn't sound so bad. They'd already done the evil snake thing once this mission. "So I've gotta sneak around a snake? I think I can handle that."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah, there is your faith! Return to me with the key, my cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Somehow, the way the lion said that <em>worried him</em>. But he'd already committed now, so… shaking his head, he started down the narrow tunnel, with the vultures trotting behind him on ungainly talons.</p>
<p>He still had a <em>lot</em> of questions.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Daniel was trying to quell his growing anxiety. But the M-word of a man standing next to him was in a <em>mood</em>, which didn't bode well for his current need—no. He didn't <em>need</em> Lance's praise. He just really, <em>really</em> wanted it.</p>
<p>He'd been feeling notably bitter lately, and it just seemed to be getting worse. Mostly it was just when he thought of their current situation, the 'stuck on a ransacked alien planet' situation… which was a lot. His standard practice of ignoring his feelings until they went away wasn't <em>working</em>, and Daniel was self-aware enough to know that a little bit of positive attention from Lance would chase away the bitterness. At least for a little while.</p>
<p>For his part, Lance was unusually unaware of his sidekick's anxiety; he was too focused on his earlier conversation. His eyes still stung from crying, but the fog had finally started to lift. Maybe it was Arus' familiar blue sky, or the long walk, or even just that he had Daniel next to him. Who had come with him, no questions asked.</p>
<p>Feeling himself settle a little more, Lance put his entire focus into his current task. He had a volcano to check out. Though he'd been tense when they started, his shoulders began to relax more and more the closer they got. It was almost as if he could feel the warmth and flame of the lion getting stronger.</p>
<p>Daniel was wondering if he should just shove his new shiny cast in Lance's face, but he wasn't blind. He could see the pilot's puffy red eyes. So he coaxed himself into staying quiet. Mostly by reminding himself that begging for praise was also semi-humiliating.</p>
<p>"Thanks for coming with," Lance said abruptly, eyeing Daniel with a little bit of guilt. He'd asked him along for the company, but he was being pretty shitty company himself. He was way too wrapped up in his own problems to realize how much the kid was craving attention right now, but he did realize he'd been quiet.</p>
<p>Daniel smirked. "No problem. Hanging out with you isn't that bad." Oh, screw it, begging wasn't <em>that </em>humiliating. "So… guess what?"</p>
<p>Lance narrowed his eyes. <em>Shit.</em> "What?"</p>
<p>"What is with the suspicion?!" That had not been the response he'd been wanting. "I've been so well behaved since we got here!" It was true! Mostly. Excluding the ghost town excursion—which had actually turned up useful information!—there had been no schemes, no pranks, no <em>nonsense</em>. Okay, there had been crypts, but still. He'd practically been an angel.</p>
<p>The pilot wasn't having it. "Kid? Come on." He wasn't in the mood for this.</p>
<p>Daniel narrowed his own eyes, bitterness hitting him full force. He shoved his injured arm forcefully out towards him, showing off its new dressing. "I found a doctor, and he gave me a real cast." Smugness filled his tone. "And I did it all on my own. I was responsible and shit."</p>
<p>Lance blinked. Then blinked again. "I…" <em>You've been caught up in yourself.</em> "Wow." He gave it a good examination. "It looks fucking great, way better than that fucking Drule bullshit." The pilot gave Daniel a smile that twitched into a smirk. The kid was obviously looking for attention, and he <em>could</em> make up for lost time. "You were very responsible. I'm seriously proud. We should ask Keith if you can borrow his Crystal Spur."</p>
<p>"Thanks." Daniel fought off a blush. That was nice, it chased away the bitterness, but he wanted more. "I even made friends with other Arusians while I was there." He didn't even care that he was blatantly begging for approval at this point. If there were other people there to witness the humiliation, he might've, but there weren't, so oh well.</p>
<p>"And diplomacy at that…" Lance grinned, patting his shoulder. "Arm feels better then?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it does. The doctor was not a fan of the Drule 'treatment' either." He was loving the cast. Apparently, keeping a fracture stabilized minimized the amount of pain it gave you! Who knew?</p>
<p>Lance frowned a bit at that; he wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of a new doctor. "They alright? This doctor?"</p>
<p>"Doctor Gorma. He's okay." <em>He wasn't Jace, though. </em>"Very bossy." Sort of like Jace, just less cursing—maybe. The guy did speak a different language, so there wasn't any way to know for sure. He could have been cursing up a storm! Daniel hoped he hadn't been; that would be too similar. "He said I used it too much. That I shouldn't have been moving it at all. I'm on strict instructions for no strenuous activity for at least six weeks." He wasn't sure why he was telling him that. Maybe he wanted to actually follow the advice, and Lance knowing would help with that. Or perhaps he was just talking without thinking.</p>
<p>Yeah, that seemed more likely.</p>
<p>Six weeks of what? Lance winced. They'd been walking for over an hour, and that seemed to fall into the category of strenuous activity. "Huh, guess I fucked that up."</p>
<p>"No, I can walk around all I want, I just have to be careful with the arm," Daniel reassured him.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, I doubt there'll be any heavy lifting—"</p>
<p>"—OH!" Another thought hit him, and he pointed an accusatory finger. With his good hand, of course. "I almost forgot. I have to yell at you."</p>
<p>"Uh oh. What?"</p>
<p>"So, you know Captain Sarial? The militia lady who's been babysitting us? She's the one who took me to see Gorma." His complaint took a small amount of backstory.</p>
<p>"Right?" Lance hadn't formally met Captain Sarial, himself, but he remembered the name.</p>
<p>"She caught your stupid expectations disease. Gorma was like 'Don't use the arm for six weeks,' and she was all 'I think you can handle that' and 'I have faith you can do it.' Like, what the fuck?!" Lance snorted and then started to really laugh, to which Daniel just rolled his eyes; of course, he thought this was funny.</p>
<p>
  <em>"This young cub lifts your spirits easily."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance grinned at Daniel as he heard the lion's voice. He couldn't argue. "Kid, that's what you get for being all responsible."</p>
<p>"I know…" He sighed, feeling sad. This was the price he paid for acting like an adult. Being an adult <em>sucked.</em> And it hadn't even just been about expectations… "Oh yeah! And she brought me having <em>skills</em> into it. How am I supposed to disagree with high expectations when they're tied into me being awesome?"</p>
<p>Lance let out another peel of laughter. "The horror of being skilled! Which skills, though? Sarcasm or foot in mouth?"</p>
<p>Daniel took a moment to remind himself why, exactly, this man's approval meant so much to him. "First of all, sarcasm should be, and by certain people is, considered a <em>highly</em> respected skill. And second, the skills in question were my ability to use explosives." He wasn't even going to comment on the 'foot in mouth' thing. Mostly because he didn't have a snappy response to it, and the last thing he needed was his skills in smartassery coming into question.</p>
<p>"She wants you to blow something up?" Lance asked, a little worried.</p>
<p>"No," which was a shame, "she… one of our crew members was <em>apparently</em> disparaging my skills in explosives." Daniel paused to narrow his eyes again. "I think it was Sven, but I don't have proof." He wasn't quite sure how he was going to <em>get</em> that proof, but he would.</p>
<p>Lance snorted again, and decided it was best to let that go. Looking ahead, the landscape was starting to change a bit. He could see smoke billowing up into the sky if he squinted, but they were still pretty far out. It was definitely a volcano, though.</p>
<p>"…So, what are we doing out here?" Daniel asked, following his gaze. They'd been walking for so long, and the gunner wasn't even sure what they were walking to, or for.</p>
<p>"Um…" Had he not even told him? He pointed to the sky. "…Walking to a volcano."</p>
<p>
  <em>What.</em>
</p>
<p>"A volcano." Daniel stopped walking and stared. First at the smoke, and then at Lance. He took a deep breath, trying to summon a calm that did not come. "You're taking me to a volcano? And you're just <em>now</em> mentioning that?! We've been walking for hours! <em>Hours</em>! It was so boring, and your mood sucked! Which means it was boring and <em>silent!"</em> He could have spent all that time fantasizing about how cool the volcano would be, instead of freaking out over whether Lance would be in a good enough headspace to give him the <em>proper</em> amount of attention for his admirable adulting decisions.</p>
<p>Lance just shrugged in slightly sheepish acknowledgment; yeah, his mood <em>had</em> sucked. It still kind of did, but the lion in his head was right. The kid made him feel better. "Yeah, I, um… have reason to believe the lion I'm looking for is… maybe inside it," he explained. To the extent that it was really an explanation.</p>
<p>"We're going <em>in</em> a volcano?!" Daniel sounded far more excited than he probably should have. "That's <em>awesome!"</em></p>
<p>Were they? He grinned; the kid's enthusiasm cheered him up either way. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe there's a temple or something, like the Murder Garden." He paused and made a face. "Also thinking it was lucky Jace and I didn't fall into a pit of lava." What the hell would that fire sigil have led to, anyway?</p>
<p>"Lava's way cooler than plants," Daniel asserted.</p>
<p><em>That murder garden liked Jace a lot more than me</em>, Lance thought, before shaking his head at the kid's excitement. "Just keep your eyes out, and be careful…" He looked up towards the sun. "We probably shouldn't stay out here too much longer." No reason to add sunburn or heat exhaustion to the kid's list of ailments.</p>
<p>Without a moment's hesitation, Daniel took off at a run towards the smoke. "Come on! Or are you too <em>old</em> to keep up with a wounded youth?" He paused before adding, "And I'm always careful!"</p>
<p>"Says the <em>wounded youth,"</em> he countered before running after him.</p>
<p>Running at Daniel's fast pace got them there relatively quickly, but also left them both hot and covered in sweat. Not that it mattered much. Daniel shrugged it off; Utah was worse.</p>
<p>Lance was too distracted with the volcano to care. It was all he could see as he looked around. Smoke and a few small magma streams in the distance. No temple, no lion, no nothing.</p>
<p>
  <em>But you feel closer than ever.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"I am."</em>
</p>
<p>"Then, where is the door?!" Lance practically screamed.</p>
<p>Daniel jumped and then turned towards him, angrily. "Bro!? Can you give a little warning before you yell randomly?"</p>
<p>Wince. "Sorry… frustrated with the voice in my head." He sighed. "He's closer, I can <em>feel</em> it, but there's nothing <em>here</em> but a volcano that would kill us if we climbed up. How the hell are we supposed to get in?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I do not remember… if I knew."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh, that was just great.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah…" Daniel had momentarily forgotten that Lance was one of the magic-affected crazies. "Wait, you can feel it?" What did that mean? He swept his gaze around the rocky landscape. "There's nothing here but a volcano and a bunch of smoke and—OH MY GOD, LIZARDS!"</p>
<p>Lance jumped and whirled around at his screech of happiness. "Now who's shouting?!" he demanded, then blinked. There <em>was</em> movement at the base of the volcano—lizards, dozens of them, in varied shades of gray and reddish-brown that blended in well with the surroundings. "Oh, hey, Lizzies."</p>
<p>"Wow! There's so many!" Daniel moved forward and reached out to touch one, fully prepared to jump back when it either ran away in fear or tried to eat him, but it <em>let him</em>. Excitement swelled in his chest. This was even better than Lance being proud of him!</p>
<p>…Okay, maybe not, but it was close.</p>
<p>Shrugging, Lance knelt to look one of the lizards in the eyes. "Have you seen the Lion of Flame about? Might be metal and shiny?" It seemingly burped up a few embers—wait, really?—and turned its head to look at the volcano, which wasn't really helpful. "Uh, thanks, I guess."</p>
<p>He was certain he heard the lion chuckle.</p>
<p>"Wait…" Daniel wasn't listening to Lance ask the lizards about magical robot lions. Which was probably for the best, because he would have felt compelled to comment. He was more focused on the lizard he was touching—it didn't feel rough like he'd expected. It almost felt moist. And warm, very warm. "Weird." He reached out to touch a different one; same thing. "I don't think these things are lizards."</p>
<p>Lance, getting nothing else from the maybe-lizard, had been watching Daniel's excitement, and his own smile got wider. It almost made up for this trip being a bit of a loss. A confusing loss. "What are they, then?"</p>
<p>"I don't know. They're kind of slimy-ish, like salamanders. But I've never heard of salamanders hanging around volcanoes, or having claws and scales like lizards." He gave the one he'd been focused on a little poke, and it flexed its claws in the ash.</p>
<p>"Huh? Well, alien lizards or salamanders." Lance offered it as if the word 'alien' answered everything, which it might.</p>
<p>"Either way, they're awesome. Reptiles, amphibians—do you think they've got frogs here? Never seen an alien frog!" To say Daniel was excited would be an understatement. He was practically <em>bursting</em> with joy.</p>
<p>Lance looked back at the unhelpful maybe-lizard and shook his head slowly. He was certain it had spit up embers. Were these things somehow…</p>
<p><em>"Yes. Mine.</em>"</p>
<p><em>Huh?</em> "The lion just claimed them… I think," Lance informed Daniel blankly, adding that to the <em>long</em> list of confusing things.</p>
<p>"That's kind of weird. Hope it doesn't mind me doing this?" Daniel went to see if one of the maybe-lizards would let him pick it up; it did, barely even reacting. It was so docile and so warm… grinning, he gently lifted it and placed it on his head. And it stayed! By now he was vibrating with happiness. This might've been the best day of his life. "This. Is. Awesome!"</p>
<p>Lance heard the Lion of Flame chuckling, and had to agree. Was the lion trying to make the kid happy for him? That seemed weird, but… "I don't think he minds at all, really. Just wish I knew how to <em>get</em> to him." He looked around, scowling in frustration. "Where the fuck is a murder garden temple when you want one?" Then he noticed what Daniel had actually done with the salamander-lizard, and grinned. "Ever think about going into zoology?"</p>
<p>"Can't fly ships in zoology." Not that he got to fly ships for the Alliance either, but he didn't have time to be bitter about that. There were lizards—or salamanders—or… whatever they were, there was one on his <em>head!</em> "And maybe he's inside the volcano? Like, actually inside." He was only half-serious; Lance had mentioned that earlier, but he hadn't sounded like he meant it.</p>
<p>It was definitely on his mind again. "At this point, I don't even find that weird… he's made of mystical warm metal." He stared at the volcano. Anything was possible at this stage, wasn't it?</p>
<p>"I mean, they've stayed hidden for a really long time, right? I feel like if he was in a temple, he'd have been found. Maybe there's a secret passageway or something. I don't know." Daniel was just throwing out half-assed ideas as quickly as he could come up with them. His mind was in overdrive. There was an <em>alien animal on his head.</em></p>
<p>Lance made a face. "A secret passage! Huh? Maybe, how the fuck am I supposed to find that…" He growled in frustration. It sounded so obvious now that the kid suggested it, but… he wasn't <em>feeling</em> anything more. Just the volcano. "I can't deal with it anymore today. Pick a salalizard to keep, and let's head back."</p>
<p>The constant talk of all the <em>weird</em> was bringing back the sense of unexplained bitterness, and Daniel sighed. It was probably explainable, if he thought about it, but he didn't want it explained. He just wanted it to go away… wait, had Lance said he could <em>keep</em> one of these? He brightened and picked up another salalizard—which was the <em>perfect</em> name for them—and hugged it tight to himself. "Just one!?" He wanted <em>all of them.</em></p>
<p>"Alright," Lance laughed. How could he say no? "As many as you can carry, one-armed Dan."</p>
<p>Daniel narrowed his eyes at the nickname. He had strong opinions on that name, and they were well known. "We've discussed that name and its unholy existence, but I will let it go this <em>once</em> because SALALIZARDS!"</p>
<p>"It was the phrasing," Lance defended, watching with a broad grin. He felt like he was catching a glimpse of what the kid must've been like on Christmas morning.</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah. You get a pass." Daniel had one salalizard across his shoulders, one on his head, and one in his arms. Not even being called Dan could ruin this moment. "Let's go."</p>
<p>"Can I have one?" Lance asked, still grinning. He'd pick one up himself, but why risk picking up one that might not like it? Daniel seemed to be the salalizard whisperer. The kid smirked and handed him the one in his arms, then quickly picked up another to replace it.</p>
<p>Lance held the salalizard up to his eye level. It was dark gray, with orange-red spots, and it did feel kind of slimy… maybe it made sense. Living around a volcano would have to be kind of dehydrating without some countermeasures. And the lion had called them his… "Do <em>you</em> know where the door is?"</p>
<p>He could've sworn the salalizard winked at him. But that was all.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The tunnel was long and the silence was awkward. Hunk didn't feel like getting Yellow Lion's attention again. His eyes were adjusting to the dimness; he could see some light coming from up ahead, and something was starting to tug at his mind.</p>
<p>"So uh… Baldy One and Baldy Two?" One of the vultures turned its head and made a little squawk-squirk sound. He assumed that meant the nickname was accepted. "You're obviously pals with the Yella Fella out there, how's come <em>you</em> couldn't grab this key for him? Gonna need higher reasoning functions?"</p>
<p>The other vulture squirked. They were both still walking alongside him—the tunnel had widened considerably from where he'd entered, but it still wouldn't comfortably allow for their wingspans. They looked ridiculous toddle-hopping their way along, and he kind of appreciated it.</p>
<p>The light was getting stronger, and the tunnel curved gently. It didn't look like what they'd seen of the shelter tunnels… he wondered how and when the den had been constructed. Alliance standards would've called for a secondary shaft, for air circulation and safety purposes. Maybe Arusian standards were similar.</p>
<p>Then he rounded the corner.</p>
<p>"…Oh you've gotta be <em>kidding."</em></p>
<p>It was another cavern, though a much smaller one. Light poured in from several gaps in the cave ceiling—he could see framework around a few of the gaps, and even what looked like stained glass covering one. The walls were covered in half-ruined murals, and there was an enormous pile of rocks in the center—rocks that didn't match the rest of the cave, like a central monument of some sort had been demolished.</p>
<p>Hunk would've taken more time to try to puzzle the place out, but his attention was held by the gigantic, spiky serpent curled around the rocks.</p>
<p><em>Fuzzmuffins</em>. "Why did I not ask questions?" he grumbled, and Baldy Two squawffled in agreement.</p>
<p>On the plus side, the cave serpent appeared to be asleep. Now he just needed to find a key in, well… <em>all this…</em> his eyes went to the pile of rocks.</p>
<p><em>"Yes,"</em> the lion confirmed, and he jumped. <em>"It is not buried deep, but deep enough to keep my helpers away."</em></p>
<p>Oh. Great! <em>So you know where it is? Like, exactly?</em> Speaking out loud seemed like a thing he should stop doing right now.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes. I will guide you."</em>
</p>
<p>That wasn't too bad. Hunk started carefully making his way through the cave, avoiding the serpent's tree trunk-sized coils. <em>And what's it doing in here, exactly? Weird storage decision.</em></p>
<p>A pause.<em>"It was… hidden. There was a reason…"</em></p>
<p>
  <em>From the Galra?</em>
</p>
<p>He half expected to be roared at, like when the Arusians had mentioned the Golden Gods. All he actually got was confusion. <em>"That name is familiar. But…"</em> The lion gave a frustrated huff. <em>"We have slept for a very long time, cub."</em></p>
<p>Obviously. Shaking his head and deciding it didn't matter for now, Hunk began to circle the pile of broken stone. He could <em>feel</em> where he was going, like the rocks were calling him… he had to climb a little way up, and was more than a <em>little</em> relieved to find the pile was mostly sturdy. He started digging through the stone, doing his best to make a nice structurally sound hole that wouldn't all cave in on him before…</p>
<p>One of the vultures shrieked.</p>
<p>"Dude!" he hissed, whipping his head around. "Baldy, keep it down over—" His own words cut off as he found himself staring at something that <em>was not</em> a vulture.</p>
<p>The cave serpent was staring back at him.</p>
<p>"Oh, fuckin' fuzzmuffins. Um… nice snakey? I'm just here to grab a little somethin', then—"</p>
<p><em>"Cub, it will not listen to me!"</em> As Yellow Lion called out in his mind, he saw the serpent shake its head, as if throwing an unwanted voice aside. <em>"You must return!"</em></p>
<p>"Ain't gotta tell me twi…" He paused as the serpent reared back. <em>Wait</em>. What was going to happen became all too clear, and his eyes widened.</p>
<p>He didn't move.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Cub!"</em>
</p>
<p>"Have some faith, dude."</p>
<p>At the last possible second, he kicked off the rocks. The snake lunged at where he'd been, smashing through the pile, sending rock fragments spraying everywhere. And as he dropped to the ground, he saw something gold glinting in the air.</p>
<p>"Hey! Baldy!"</p>
<p>With a squawk, one of the vultures launched into the spray of stone, dodging shrapnel and snagging the gold thing in one of its talons. And Hunk <em>booked it.</em></p>
<p>The cave serpent was fast, and it was <em>quiet</em>. He only knew it was following him because its shadow kept moving. The vultures were following as well, and he saw their shadows smacking into the serpent's as they tried to distract it. One swooped down just overhead, dropping the gold thing into his hands; he caught it without breaking stride.</p>
<p>The tunnel was close… he heard the vultures shrieking and moving away from him, echoing through the cavern. It sounded like they must have gone back to the holes in the ceiling. Maybe it would keep the cave serpent occupied—</p>
<p>
  <em>SMACK.</em>
</p>
<p>—Maybe it wouldn't.</p>
<p>Glancing over his shoulder just long enough to see the serpent shaking off a momentary daze—courtesy of its head slamming right into the stone wall behind him—Hunk picked up the pace. The narrow gap between the tunnel and Yellow Lion's den was close now, it was just ahead of him…</p>
<p><em>"You cubs </em>are <em>mad,"</em> the lion growled approvingly.</p>
<p>"Dude, you better be able to hear <em>all the things</em> I'm calling you in my head right now!" He lunged through the opening and threw himself into a roll, glancing back just in time to see the cave serpent rearing up for another strike. Scrambling off to the side, he <em>really</em> hoped the damn snake didn't have much peripheral range, or this was really gonna—</p>
<p>The key in his hands emitted a flare of amber light, and Yellow Lion roared—and it wasn't just in his <em>mind</em>.</p>
<p>"Uh…?"</p>
<p>With a shriek of ancient gears, the huge lion rose up from the ground. Something silvery flashed overhead—a tail? Did this thing have a tail?</p>
<p>Yes. Yes it did. A long, slim tail that ended with a gigantic <em>hammer</em>. He had just enough time to comprehend the fact, then the hammer-tail smashed into the stone above the opening and sent a shower of rock and debris raining down. A pile of broken sandstone filled the tunnel entrance, and shook violently as—Hunk could only assume—the serpent slammed into it and got nothing but a headache for its trouble.</p>
<p>A second attempt did little better, and everything went still.</p>
<p>
  <em>"What were you calling me, cub?"</em>
</p>
<p>"…Totally standin' by it," Hunk snorted, though he was staring at the lion with wide eyes. "But that was <em>awesome."</em></p>
<p>The gravelly chuckle filled the den and his mind.<em>"I have wanted to do that for decades."</em></p>
<p>"You're welcome."</p>
<p>That got another chuckle, fading into a soft and contemplative growl. <em>"Yes. You did very well, cub. But now we return to the true question on our paws… have you made your choice?"</em></p>
<p>Hunk took a long breath, letting himself come down from the adrenaline. Had he made a choice? He looked down at the key—a segmented metal disc bearing the same yellow sigil. It felt heavier than he would've thought. After what he'd gone through to get this damn thing… no, that was hardly even part of it.</p>
<p>
  <em>Return to the world and the life that requires the mask that you wear. Or choose faith…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And if I do?</em>
</p>
<p>The team hadn't talked about <em>this</em>. And somehow, he couldn't help feeling it wouldn't have mattered if they had. This wasn't something they could reason out, something they could decide like some regular mission tactic. It was something that had to be <em>felt…</em></p>
<p>And as hard as he tried to fight it, Hunk knew what he felt.</p>
<p>
  <em>Faith.</em>
</p>
<p>"What do you need me to do?"</p>
<p>The lion purred. <em>"Come closer. Stand before me."</em></p>
<p>Nodding, he circled around to the front of the lion. His nerves were all on edge, but this was right. Terrifying, but right… Yellow Lion pushed one paw forward, and he understood, moving forward himself to lay a hand on the silver metal.</p>
<p>—<em>The earth surging and trembling, the stone itself rippling, he could feel the desert pressing in from above and the distant mountains and something else, a presence, many presences, the ancient lion and a hundred others who had made this choice, and choices not yet made, and it was overwhelming and he couldn't pull his hand back and the earthquake knocked him from his feet and then it was over—</em></p>
<p>He was still standing, gasping for breath, feeling something like gravity racing through his veins and the lion's presence deep in the back of his mind. Not the unwelcome barging in he'd been growing used to, but something quiet, comforting, <em>solid</em>.</p>
<p>"Holy fuzzmuffins…"</p>
<p><em>"You are now the Knight of the Earth</em>, <em>and the Paladin of Faith,"</em> the lion growled softly. <em>"My first Bonded in centuries…"</em></p>
<p>Hunk shivered as the voice ran down his spine, and looked up into the lion's glowing blue eyes. "Slow it down, dude," he said shakily. "I told you, my name's Hunk."</p>
<p><em>"Perhaps that is so,"</em> the lion agreed. <em>"And yet… your name shall be Earthwarder."</em></p>
<p>"Earthwarder?" he repeated, blinking, and he felt the weight of the desert again. It felt strong, it felt <em>right</em>, it felt… "…That is a lot of syllables when just one will do, dude!"</p>
<p>The Lion of Earth just chuckled.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Vince had returned to the <em>Falcon</em>, and was sitting on his bed; he was avoiding the castle for the moment. He'd walked around a corner while wandering it a bit—it was hard <em>not</em> to wander a deserted castle, he found—and had seen a ghost. For about three seconds, he'd tried to remember what Romelle had told him, to stay calm. But it was no <em>use</em>. He hadn't really run back to the <em>Falcon</em>… but he'd definitely run back to the <em>Falcon</em>.</p>
<p>He felt ridiculous.</p>
<p>But it was just too much, and he'd dreamed about those constellations again… staring up at an unknown sky. He'd checked Arus' sky at night and while it was beautiful, with two moons, he hadn't seen those constellations. Strange shapes that were both familiar and unfamilar…</p>
<p>Vince was so tired of weird.</p>
<p>So he stared at the ceiling.</p>
<p>Maybe he was pouting. He thought maybe he should talk to Hunk about it all, tell him about the visions, but the rest of them seemed to have their own weird things happening. He didn't envy it—the last thing he needed was voices in his head. He was cracking up enough as it was.</p>
<p>Sighing, he tried not to think, but it was no use. He wasn't sure what to do and it made him miss Flynn and Jace, because he could talk to them without having to explain too much… and <em>that</em> just made him wonder how he'd survived when they hadn't. Him, of all people? He really wished his look into meditation had worked, because he'd give anything to be able to turn off thinking. Because he was of course overthinking and rethinking and it felt like an annoying loop.</p>
<p>Even Pidge would be welcome right now. Maybe. At least they could commiserate about not being able to turn off their thoughts.</p>
<p>He stared at the ceiling and felt like maybe his eyes were getting droopy; he hadn't slept much at all. Too much going on. So good, maybe now he'd get lucky and not dream. Not <em>think…</em> he closed his eyes, only too happy to surrender to sleep.</p>
<p>But suddenly he felt a jolt—an odd burst of gravity that made him rise up on the bed, feeling it from his feet on up and then he was standing, his feet planted solidly on the ground…</p>
<p>Only he was <em>lying down in bed.</em></p>
<p>He squawked and fell off the bed in a startled panic; sparks shot from his fingers, scorching ten little marks into the floor. "Fuzzmuffins…"</p>
<p>He sighed. It just figured, didn't it, him freaking <em>himself</em> out enough that he had some bizarre new episode. And of course everything was getting weirder, of course he was sparking again, what else could go wrong?</p>
<p>Suddenly he felt trapped in his own dark mood, almost like he needed to be outside or he was going to go crazy. Before he knew it, he was standing outside the <em>Falcon</em>, looking at his feet on the ground. Everything just seemed so… normal now. He frowned, then he heard footsteps and looked up.</p>
<p>"Hello."</p>
<p>He stared at the woman, Captain Sarial, he thought. "Hello."</p>
<p>She held a package. "I was asked to bring you a bit of food. We had some surplus that shouldn't go to waste."</p>
<p>He wasn't sure if he was hungry but it'd be impolite to refuse, so he stepped closer to look at what she had. Maybe it would settle his anxious stomach down, anyway. He saw some light brown food that looked a bit like berries, except for the color. He remembered them from the dinner; he'd liked them, and took a handful before accepting the rest of the package. "What are these?" he asked absently before popping one into his mouth.</p>
<p>"Onpira," she answered, "one of the foods we're able to grow in the caves. I believe they would equate best to mushrooms?"</p>
<p>Vince gulped. Swallowed. And stared at the mushrooms—the very tasty mushrooms—in his hands, feeling even more betrayed.</p>
<p>Did it ever stop?!</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>As he was still trying to come to grips with Earthwarder—never mind Knight of the Earth and Paladin of Faith or whatever the hell all that was about—Hunk was absently looking at his reflection in the lion's claws. And suddenly, his vision was washed out in yellow. Just for a moment. Through the distorted colors, he could see one thing clearly enough: his eyes had just <em>glowed</em>.</p>
<p>"What the hell?!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"The Bonds are powerful things, Earthwarder. They are volatile now, with you as the sole Bonded. They will stabilize in time…"</em>
</p>
<p>Oh. Wonderful. "Did you send me in to have fun with the local wildlife first because you figured this… glowy eyes thing would get in the way?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"It may have been a factor."</em>
</p>
<p>"Well, I appreciate that, anyway." He crossed his arms. "And since you're givin' me answers here, I'd like some more—and I didn't even make 'em a condition of this bonding, because <em>faith</em>, so are you gonna prove me right or wrong?"</p>
<p>Somehow, Yellow Lion actually felt a little taken aback in his mind. Then he chuckled again.<em>"You </em>are <em>a clever cub, but I knew this. Ask… but know there is only so much I can answer."</em></p>
<p>That was halfway encouraging, he guessed. Where to even start? Maybe, he decided after a moment's indecision, the very inability to know where to start <em>was</em> a question. "Why," he gestured widely, "did we hafta go through, y'know, <em>all this bullshit? </em>You couldn't just say hey, come down here and find this key and we'll talk?"</p>
<p>It sounded like he'd expected that question, as he probably should've.<em>"And would you have made the same decision, had you not been forced to confront what you are? You had to be tested."</em></p>
<p>"I'd get that a whole lot more if we didn't have Drules about to drop on our heads. Couldn't do a waiver? This is an <em>emergency situation."</em></p>
<p>Now he paused. <em>"You misunderstand. The tests are neither a conceit, nor our choice. They are our nature…"</em> The lion growled softly. <em>"The power of the Defender is immense. To Bond with one unworthy, or even merely incompatible, would be a grave danger to all."</em></p>
<p>Hunk blinked, looking up at the lion's glowing eyes. "The Defender?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"The sacred knight… that which mortals know as Voltron."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Holy fuzzmuffins</em>. Now they were really getting somewhere. "And uh, what exactly is Voltron? You lions aren't Voltron?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"We are not, and yet we are. You will see…"</em>
</p>
<p>…Why had he not anticipated that?</p>
<p>He opted to try a different topic, because one thing for <em>sure</em> didn't make sense. "Are you sayin' there was nobody worthy on this whole <em>planet</em> before we turned up?" Among other things, it seemed like a mathematical impossibility. If worthy people were that hard to find, how had they just come rolling in with five without knowing it? For that matter, if they were worthy, the lions' standards couldn't be <em>that</em> high—</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can hear you, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>Right. "Good, so… answer?" Not that he was expecting one. But to his surprise, he actually got one.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Our standards are quite high, but as to this planet… no. There are worthy ones. But something… went wrong."</em>
</p>
<p>Went wrong? "What d'you mean, exactly, by 'went wrong'?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"That, my cub, is an answer I would gladly give you if I knew. We called out to the people of this world. But they could not hear."</em>
</p>
<p>Well hell. That sounded… very, very bad. "But doesn't the princess talk to you?"</p>
<p><em>"To all of us? No…"</em> Again there was a long, frustrated pause. <em>"I lack these answers, Earthwarder."</em></p>
<p>"…Okay. One more question?" He looked at the key in his hands and hoped to anyone who might be listening—so probably the lion, but faith or whatever—that this question would be safer ground. "What's this thing for?"</p>
<p>There was a pause. Then a snarl of agitation. <em>"It is required, yet not meant to be… no, that is not what you asked." </em>Hunk raised an eyebrow; <em>that</em> was a first. <em>"I will show you. Come."</em> With another low whirr, the lion crouched in front of him, and the silver jaws opened up.</p>
<p>"…Uh, you're joking." He didn't answer. Maybe because his mouth was wide open. "Dude, you are joking, right?" Still nothing—the flash of yellow filled his vision again and he grimaced. Did faith really include letting a giant robot lion eat him?</p>
<p>…Probably.</p>
<p>Clambering over the jaw, using one fang for support, he looked around and blinked. Ahead of him was a sort of metallic wall, and he could make out what seemed like parts of a weapon mechanism… but somewhat more to the point, there was something set deep into the metal that was unmistakably a hatch.</p>
<p>"Down the hatch?" he muttered, shrugging, and spun it open. A small tunnel greeted him, sloping upwards to a second hatch, and he opened it up to reveal…</p>
<p>A <em>cockpit</em>.</p>
<p>"Wait." He looked around. It looked a lot like the inside of a Fractal fighter, and also a lot <em>not</em> like the inside of a Fractal—the main screen and controls were recognizable, yet alien at the same time. "Wait…" There were two seats—the back one had a console of its own, though it wasn't like any RIO setup he'd ever done maintenance on. <em>"Wait.</em> You're a—you're a ship?!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"That is a… simplification."</em>
</p>
<p>Snort. "You're a giant mythical robotic elemental lion that's also a ship?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Better."</em>
</p>
<p>"And you went through all this testing crap to bond to me without asking if I'm a pilot?!"</p>
<p>For what felt like a very long time, there was no reply. Then, a slight tremor ran through the cockpit; the lion was laughing. <em>"I know you are not… yet."</em></p>
<p>Before he could even find a response to that, Hunk's eyes glowed yellow again. "Oh for…" Stepping forward, he sank into the back seat and shook his head slowly. "What. The. Hell. Did you get me into here, my dude."</p>
<p><em>"You will see soon enough,"</em> the Lion of Earth chuckled. <em>"The Earth is patient."</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <i>*No chapter next week, going to try to settle down some recent scheduling glitches. We’ll be back the week after!</i>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Overtaken By Events</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith was certain he'd made a mistake. Why, <em>why</em> had he mentioned the Lion of Storms to the princess? It had felt so <em>right</em> in the moment, like something he should do. And he hadn't really told her anything of substance, had he? Just that he thought it might be in the mountains. That he wanted to go…</p>
<p><em>Damn it.</em> And yet, the more he thought about it, the more certain he was she'd already known. She hadn't seemed even a little surprised by his words, and she'd offered so readily to help…</p>
<p>
  <em>What the hell is going on? Who's playing at what, here?</em>
</p>
<p>All this kicking himself was the result of Pidge finally finding him. He had a report, he'd said. And the ninja just popping up and claiming to have information felt about right for their situation, if he were honest. So here he was, pacing the <em>Falcon's</em> rec room again, waiting for everyone else to check in and hoping he hadn't botched everything.</p>
<p>Across from him, Pidge was leaning against a wall uneasily. He knew he needed to report, but he really didn't want to report. He didn't want to tell them… well, he didn't want to tell them <em>things</em>.</p>
<p>At the thought, he heard Green Lion purring in his mind. <em>You shut up</em>. She purred louder.</p>
<p>Slowly the others filed in. Lance and Daniel had already been back, showering and changing after the trek to the volcano. Sven also had changed, still more than a bit irritated by his attempts at the lake. Vince was grumpy too, from weirdness and mushrooms. Romelle was still on edge, though the <em>Falcon</em> felt safer than the castle. And Hunk…</p>
<p>"…Where's Hunk?" Keith asked flatly, looking around his team. Bad enough for Pidge to have disappeared on them. Hunk was <em>hard to miss</em>.</p>
<p>"Haven't seen him." Lance was avoiding looking directly at Pidge, or directly at much of anyone. Looking at the salalizard on Daniel's lap—the others were back in their room, hopefully not setting anything on fire—was much safer. The kid was cuddling the reptile to try to keep his mood even; the happiness from Lance's praise had not lasted near as long as he'd hoped, but at least he had a lizard. "It's Hunk, he couldn't have gone far."</p>
<p>"He was right outside the ship when I got back?" Pidge offered, then fell silent. That had been a <em>while</em> ago, by now. Not useful.</p>
<p>"No idea." Sven shrugged. "I've been swimming."</p>
<p>"You went swimming?" Lance repeated, looking over at him and raising an eyebrow. His hair did look wet, now that he mentioned it.</p>
<p>"Yes. I think my lion is down there." He made a face. "No idea how to <em>get</em> there, but I'm certain she's there."</p>
<p>Lance's eyes widened. <em>Well fuck</em>. At least someone was making progress. "Uh, at least you can go into the water? I think mine is in a volcano. Daniel and I walked out to have a look, but we sure as hell didn't see anything that said it was a door…"</p>
<p>"But there were lizards!" Daniel said cheerfully, holding his up. "Or salamanders. Whatever these guys are."</p>
<p>The Viking raised an eyebrow; that was less encouraging than it could've been. "She might as well be in a volcano. There is absolutely no way I'll be able to reach her without diving equipment."</p>
<p>Diving equipment. He wondered if this planet had possessed such a thing even <em>before</em> it was attacked—the tech level was hard to pin down.</p>
<p>"Well, I think mine is in the mountains." Keith shook his head and pointedly did not mention his conversation with the princess. "Somewhere."</p>
<p>"Still beats lava."</p>
<p>They all seemed very comfortable with referring to the lions as <em>theirs</em>, Pidge noted. He was absolutely not going there, but this was what he'd come to report. "The green one is in the forest."</p>
<p>Immediately all eyes were on him.</p>
<p>"Wuh…?"</p>
<p>"…Huh?"</p>
<p>"Say what now?"</p>
<p>Blinking, Keith spared about half a second to seriously regret not asking Pidge for a preliminary report. He cleared his throat to silence the others. "I take it you've… been hearing a voice, Pidge?"</p>
<p>That was another thing he was wholly unprepared to say out loud. Voices in his head were still a touchy subject. Instead, he snorted and raised his hands about to his chest. "I was escorted there by wolves this big."</p>
<p>"Wolves?" Keith and Sven both echoed.</p>
<p>"Wolves."</p>
<p>"Fucking wolves?" Lance looked over at Daniel's salalizard, and his thoughts drifted to the lion in his head. <em>You knew</em>. He got a low, knowing purr in response. "Well, why the fuck not?" Sven followed the pilot's gaze and frowned slightly, thinking about the gorcas. Which he supposed had started to grow on him, but…</p>
<p>For his own part, Daniel was hit by new twinges of bitterness at the news. Pidge got a lion too? <em>Pidge?</em> Scowling, he put the salalizard on his head, and immediately felt a little better. Sitting next to him, Vince had no idea what to think—except that he was glad for some weirdness that <em>wasn't</em> about him. Were giant wolves worse or better than ghosts?</p>
<p>Keith frowned. He'd have preferred if Hunk were here, but they couldn't just stop now. "What can you tell us, Pidge?"</p>
<p>…<em>Surprisingly little of use</em>, he realized, and made a face. "There's a lion. She's there. She's green. She gave me a lecture."</p>
<p>"A lecture fits," Lance agreed, clenching his jaw. The one he'd gotten recently about <em>grief</em> still hurt.</p>
<p>"Lecturing seems to be a part of the standard lion-in-your-head starter pack," Sven agreed, and felt the Lion of Water chuckle.</p>
<p>"So I'm officially the only normal person left?" Daniel muttered, looking around. "Great." Vince immediately opened his mouth to object, then just as immediately shut it. He exchanged looks with Romelle instead; she offered a weak smile.</p>
<p>Pidge eyed their gunner in confusion. "Was I included in that <em>before</em> a metal cat lectured me?"</p>
<p>"It's a low standard."</p>
<p>"That's fair." Green Lion purred again.</p>
<p>Lance snorted, looking at the salalizard on Daniel's head. "Kid, there is nothing normal about you."</p>
<p>"Oh yeah?" He crossed his arms. "I don't have voices in my head, I don't see or talk to ghosts, I don't do weird sparky things. By our standards I'm pretty damn normal."</p>
<p>"You do seem to have salalizard whispering skills?"</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Keith cleared his throat for quiet again. "So Pidge, you actually <em>saw</em> it?" They still had so little to go on with these lions, even with the voices in their heads, that—</p>
<p>—The door to the rec room burst open.</p>
<p>Hunk was happier than he could even express to find the whole team already gathered together. He was not up for explaining what had just happened more than once. He wasn't even sure he was up for it <em>once</em>. "Dudes, you're not gonna <em>believe</em> what the fuzzmuffins I just—" His eyes glowed yellow and his train of thought immediately derailed. "—WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!"</p>
<p>Everyone jumped, and more than a few weapons came up. "The fuck, Hunk?!"</p>
<p>"Komora sa kye?"</p>
<p>"Wh—I'm sorry!" That had been Daniel; the salalizard had fallen off of his head and was hissing at him angrily. He hugged it and returned his attention to the big engineer. "Yo, what's with the <em>eyes?"</em></p>
<p>"It ain't my fault, bro!"</p>
<p>"It's creepy," Vince declared, and felt personally betrayed by the universe. Again. Hunk was not supposed to be creepy!</p>
<p>"What the fuck." Lance lowered his gun, though his heart was still pounding. Something felt <em>weird</em>, and it wasn't just the dramatic entry. The hair on the back of his neck was prickling.</p>
<p>Slumping over the back of an empty couch, Hunk looked around at the others and shook his head. "He <em>says</em> it's because 'the Bonds need time to stabilize', or somethin' like that, whatever <em>that</em> means…" He stared down at the cushions. They were dull blue and kind of grainy and weren't going to get him out of this. "…Um, so yeah. I uh, met my lion."</p>
<p>"Bonds?" Lance repeated, then the last part sank in. "Wait, you met yours too!"</p>
<p>"Met. Yeah. That's definitely what I did."</p>
<p>Keith didn't even bother trying to comprehend enough to form a real question. "Okay. Start talking."</p>
<p>"Mission's shot, boss." Hunk's tone was completely deadpan. "Shot. Super shot. Shot to hell. The shottiest."</p>
<p><em>You knew that, too</em>. Lance couldn't entirely tell if that thought was his own, or the Lion of Flame.</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Sven wasn't sure that question was any more specific than Keith's, but Hunk seemed to be struggling. To be fair, it certainly looked like he had <em>reason</em> to be struggling.</p>
<p>"I mean the lions want us to stay… no, that ain't it." The word <em>stay</em> had not, technically, been involved, and it could mean a lot of different things. He didn't actually know where Arus fell into any of this. More accurate was what he actually knew. "I mean the lions want us to <em>bond to them</em>. It's kinda a big deal and—" his eyes glowed again, and he glared over his shoulder in the general direction of the desert. For all the good <em>that</em> did him. "—apparently my name is 'Earthwarder' now? Or it's one of the others, I dunno, he gave me a bunch."</p>
<p>Yellow Lion gave a growl of affectionate exasperation in the back of his mind. It wasn't helping.</p>
<p>Romelle shifted uncomfortably as she listened. Daniel patted his salalizard and frowned; he did not like this. Vince, somehow, was reaching whole new levels of not liking this. How did he have any new levels left?</p>
<p>"He is <em>judging me</em> right now," Hunk continued with a look of frustration, "but I'm not sure how he expected this to go. I don't know how to explain it. It ain't exactly explainable." Though, the bonding thing aside, he did have one piece of information he could offer for sure. Holding out the key, he added, "Also the lions are spacecraft."</p>
<p>Everyone shut up again, for a solid five seconds this time. Pidge broke it. "They're wh…" He thought about Green Lion again, about what they'd known of Voltron before this, and his eyes widened. "Of course they are."</p>
<p><em>You couldn't have led with that!</em> Lance demanded in his mind, and his lion chuckled in response. "As in flying?" Like there were other kinds, but his brain was short-circuiting right now.</p>
<p>Hunk nodded.</p>
<p>"Wait." Daniel had been bristling ever since the word <em>stay</em>. Suddenly it had gotten even worse. "So they need someone to pilot them? That kind of spacecraft?"</p>
<p>Hunk nodded again.</p>
<p>Oh hell no. This was <em>not</em> okay. These things were spacecraft that needed pilots, and Hunk had one? Pidge had one? But he was being passed over, ignored, left out… he noticed the worried look Lance was giving him, decided he wasn't interested in dealing with any of this, and put the salalizard back on his head. It helped him stay quiet.</p>
<p>Much as Lance didn't like the look on Daniel's face, he was feeling badly torn right now. Arus reminded him so much of home… and finding out the lion in his head was some kind of fighter craft, or something, was far from <em>discouraging</em>.</p>
<p><em>You want me to be your pilot?</em> Sven asked his own lion, receiving a purr in response. <em>I should warn you, that is probably a mistake.</em> She did not seem concerned.</p>
<p>"Well." Keith spoke into the silence just to end it; he had no idea what to say. "This is… crazy." <em>When in doubt, point out things are crazy.</em></p>
<p>"Ain't it." Hunk sighed. "Anyway, if the glowy eyes, which I <em>was not warned about</em>, didn't make it obvious, I said yes."</p>
<p>Pidge frowned. "Said yes to what, exactly? 'Bonding'? Is it just piloting?" He was not even convinced about the piloting part.</p>
<p>"Definitely not just piloting, but…" Hunk had nothing more he could say to that. What else was it? A few hours in, it was mostly a lot of glowing eyes and feeling off-balance. <em>So uh, Yellow, you want to help me out here?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"The Bonds are not so easily explained. They will know when it is their time to know."</em>
</p>
<p>Well, he believed that last part, anyway. <em>Faith. Got it</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Indeed. The Earth is patient."</em>
</p>
<p>Watching him, Lance couldn't help the other obvious question. <em>"You</em> said yes? I mean, fucking glowing eyes, got that, but you didn't seem thrilled about any of this."</p>
<p>"I wasn't." Frown. "I'm not."</p>
<p>"Well that's not fucking confusing."</p>
<p><em>Yeah, tell me about it.</em> He probably could have tried to explain that part, but an awful lot of that decision-making process had been <em>personal</em>. He wasn't ready to go poking around at the bandage that had been ripped off out there just yet. Besides… "Trust me, when yours get to you you'll understand."</p>
<p>A few nods answered him. The lions did seem to rely on an awful lot of <em>feeling</em>.</p>
<p>Keith still would've liked some more concrete information. "Did you… fly it back here, by chance?"</p>
<p>"Uh, hell no. You ever seen me try to fly anything? I asked him about his bad taste in pilots and he just laughed at me." Frown. There had been more to it than that, too; he'd asked just before heading back whether he was supposed to start trying to fly right then.</p>
<p>
  <em>"As much as I would enjoy the open sky, no. It is safest if I and my siblings remain hidden, until all of them are awake."</em>
</p>
<p>"…Also think we've gotta get to the others before flyin' him is any help."</p>
<p>Perhaps that made sense. Nearly all of what they'd discovered before their arrival indicated all five lions were necessary to the weapon. "What else can you tell us?"</p>
<p>"Well," the engineer brightened a little, "he did kinda give me answers about some things! Sort of. Ish."</p>
<p>"That just sounds ominous, Hunk."</p>
<p>"Has anything not been ominous?"</p>
<p>Fair point.</p>
<p>"Uh, so about these answers?" Vince asked hesitantly. "I like answers. Answers might make this less weird." <em>And it's a weird that has nothing to do with </em>me<em>, for once. </em>Daniel scowled at him slightly—he did <em>not</em> want answers about weird that he wasn't part of—but again he stayed quiet.</p>
<p>Answers would be nice, Lance decided. "How the fuck do I get into a volcano?"</p>
<p>"Know how to get to the bottom of what's practically a miniature ocean without equipment?"</p>
<p>…Apparently the others had been making progress. Good! Hunk looked between them and grimaced. "Uh, those were <em>not</em> the questions I asked. I can see if—"</p>
<p>
  <em>"—They must find their own way, as you did."</em>
</p>
<p>"—Never mind, apparently Mr. Lion of Earth thinks a desert is the same thing as water or lava."</p>
<p>Their pilot snorted. "Of course he does, why wouldn't he… but mine doesn't even know where the door is. He thinks."</p>
<p>"There has to be a path," Keith said quietly, remembering what Princess Allura had shown him… before he could say anything more, he felt a low, warning growl in the back of his mind.</p>
<p>"Was looking for a temple or something like the Murder Garden, but nothing."</p>
<p>"I know where the 'path' in my case is," Sven muttered. "I just can't get to it, since it's an underwater cave."</p>
<p>Looking around at the others, Pidge reconsidered—slightly—his objections to insistent monster wolf guides. At least they could choose <em>not</em> to maul him to death.</p>
<p>"Welp." Hunk shrugged helplessly. "Gotta do it yourselves, dudes, <em>apparently</em>. But he did tell me all this 'gotta do it yourself' crap isn't their fault, exactly? Somethin' about how 'the Defender'—which is Voltron—which is all he told me about Voltron—is really powerful and they have to be sure they have 'compatible' people to bond, or else it would… uh, I dunno, but it would be bad." His eyes glowed again and he scowled. "Maybe fry your eyeballs out instead of just this glowy bullshit, yeah?"</p>
<p>The room went quiet for a few moments as the team considered that. It was information, at least…</p>
<p><em>Maybe sparks and ghosts make you bad for… lion bonds or whatever?</em> Vince sighed softly. <em>Thank goodness.</em> He had more than enough to worry about as it was.</p>
<p><em>Oh, so I'm not compatible</em>. Daniel snorted, he shouldn't be surprised. Since when was he compatible with anything?</p>
<p>Pidge was also none too certain when he'd ever been compatible with most things. Maybe Green Lion had just wanted him out of her forest…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Stop that, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Closing his eyes, Lance tried to make sense of everything. Easier said than done. <em>Just what the fuck do you want from me?</em></p>
<p>For a long moment, the Lion of Flame was silent. Of course he was. Then,<em>"Find me."</em></p>
<p>As if that were the problem!</p>
<p>Keith's mind was still on what he'd seen before. <em>The tunnels…</em></p>
<p><em>"No, cub. They </em>must <em>find them on their own."</em></p>
<p>
  <em>But they're my team.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"No."</em>
</p>
<p>Clenching his fists, he nodded and remained silent. It was infuriating, but if this was what the mission required, then…</p>
<p>"I don't know if I want glowing eyes," Sven murmured, sensing this time it was his turn to break the silence. His lion just chuckled; he'd expected no less. And no more.</p>
<p>Even Romelle had latched onto the idea of incompatibility. Allura had asked if her people had taken something… how did it fit together with this? But she couldn't quite fully form the question, so she kept it to herself and just listened.</p>
<p>Their commander got to somewhere similar, at least. "Hunk, are you saying that nobody on this planet was… compatible for these lions to bond with?" It didn't make sense.</p>
<p>The big guy brightened. "I actually <em>did</em> ask that!" Just as quickly he seemed to un-brighten. "…And uh, he said they kept tryin' to but 'something went wrong', and also he'd have given me a straight answer if he knew the straight answer. In case anyone was hopin' for things to get <em>less</em> confusing."</p>
<p>"Something went wrong."</p>
<p>"That seems like an understatement, if it led to all this."</p>
<p>"A <em>lot</em> of things have gone wrong."</p>
<p>"Tell me about it…"</p>
<p>Lance had been looking at Daniel, still worried. Now he was just shaking his head. "So they can't… bond?… to Arusians? So they need us?" He didn't even know where to go with that. It was a <em>lot</em>.</p>
<p>"Basically yeah. I think."</p>
<p>Another long silence. They had something concrete, finally, but what were they supposed to do with it? Other than be careful what they wished for, apparently. Everyone stared at Hunk, then the looks started turning to Keith. And what was he supposed to do, exactly? He knew no more than anyone else, and less than some…</p>
<p><em>But you are still the commander</em>. He exhaled slowly, remembering the engineer's opening words. <em>Mission's shot</em>. That wasn't in doubt. Information wasn't helping them, but it still felt like they <em>needed</em> it. To understand everything they could about this process. Because if there was anything he could feel positive of right now, it was that this wouldn't stop with Hunk.</p>
<p>"Was the… bond… painful?"</p>
<p>"Bond itself? Nah. Kinda freaky," he flashed back to the wave of gravity and <em>earth</em> that had flooded through him, "but didn't hurt. Had to go sneak this," he held up the key again, "out of a cave with a <em>giant man-eating snake</em>, though. That kinda sucked."</p>
<p>"A giant snake?" Keith echoed, looking at Lance and hoping with all his might that the pilot would not go off about it. "Didn't we do that already?"</p>
<p>"See, that's what I thought…" He glanced over at Daniel and shook his head. "It wasn't even hot. And no legs." It won him a brief smile, though the kid's concern about all this bonding stuff was still rapidly building.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Cave serpents should not be a problem the others have to deal with, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>"…Oh. Apparently the giant snake was a 'me' thing."</p>
<p>"Good, lava is bad enough," Lance muttered. "Fucking snakes."</p>
<p>"Water and lava do sound dangerous enough on their own," Romelle agreed quietly. She wasn't quite sure why she'd said it, except that she felt like she ought to say something. To be part of this discussion, because this team was… <em>her</em> team? She caught a small smile from Vince, and returned it.</p>
<p>Lance nodded, then looked up in time to see Hunk's eyes glow again. It was brief—not even all that bright, really—but it was so fucking far out of context he couldn't shake it off. "That eye thing looks freaky."</p>
<p>"Trust me, bro, feels freaky to me too. Everything," he gestured widely, "looks yellow."</p>
<p>"Huh." Definitely not something they'd expected from the superweapon with robotic… cats? "So wait, does that mean anyone who 'bonds' gets yellow freaky eyes? Like cats?" He felt his lion purring and something else occurred to him. <em>I don't want a tail!</em></p>
<p>The lion laughed outright.</p>
<p>Hunk hadn't even made <em>that</em> connection, but supposed he had left out one key fact here. "My lion's yellow. I mean, make of that what you will."</p>
<p>"…Blue glowing eyes?" Sven murmured to himself, remembering the blue section of the temple. His lion had to be the blue one, surely? He wasn't sure how he felt about it…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Better than yellow, yes?"</em>
</p>
<p>Probably true. He could already hear Jace yelling about glowing alien jaundice.</p>
<p>Lance grinned. He liked that better, at least. "Kid, what do you think? Fire eyes for me?" Even as he asked it, part of his mind was objecting. <em>Why are you acting like this is a done deal?</em></p>
<p>Daniel would have liked to know that, too. "Maybe." The idea sounded really cool. The fact that he'd asked it was <em>concerning</em>.</p>
<p>"Awesome, right?" <em>Are you really that sure?</em></p>
<p>"Yeah." <em>No.</em></p>
<p>Pidge was not thinking about the prospect of glowing green eyes—besides, Baltan eyes already came close to glowing in the correct light. He was more interested in <em>consequential</em> things. "This 'bond'." He had not gotten an answer the last time he'd tried to ask. "What is it these lions want from us, exactly? To pilot them? For what? Against the Drules and the counterattack, that seems like a reasonable ask." More reasonable if they'd all picked <em>actual pilots</em>, but nonetheless. "But what then?"</p>
<p>Everyone looked at him, and then at Hunk. It was a very good question. It was probably the most important question. "Yeah, what then?"</p>
<p>"I am also interested."</p>
<p>It was a damn good question, wasn't it? Hunk shook his head slowly. "I don't know, guys. Didn't feel like a temporary thing." He should know more. He should've <em>asked</em>. Shouldn't he? But it hadn't felt like the important question at the time, because… because why, exactly? Faith?</p>
<p>
  <em>"The Earth is the foundation. There is a reason you were the first."</em>
</p>
<p><em>What the fuzzmuffins does </em>that <em>mean, dude? </em>But maybe it did make sense…</p>
<p>…No, it hadn't been faith. Not quite. "Look, gettin' back to Earth, specifically… not the biggest priority for me, okay?" There. That was it. His team was here, his team's <em>mission</em> was here. The rest of them had seemed more receptive to all of this, and they'd forged ahead into every <em>other</em> crazy-ass thing together. They'd do the same here—or not. Going first, <em>that</em> was faith.</p>
<p>…Kind of ironic that the Knight of the Earth had just played the 'not worried about Earth' card, wasn't it? Nothing he could do about that.</p>
<p>A very tense silence had fallen over the team.</p>
<p>Returning to Earth. Was that even the question anymore? Keith felt a pang, a quiet acknowledgment in his guts that maybe it didn't even matter. His family was long gone; what was left for him was duty. And his duty, to bring these lions back, was already on a collision course with reality that he couldn't stop.</p>
<p>Sven was in no hurry to get back to Earth, either. But there <em>were</em> people there he'd like to see again, at some point—he did love his parents, and even liked them in manageable doses. Still, for all they'd known, this hunt for Voltron could have taken years on its own. He just needed to know more about this 'bonding'.</p>
<p>There was nothing whatsoever for Pidge on Earth; he didn't even like it there. Nothing but a vague hint of blind hope, and an oath he couldn't shake off so easily… but those were both personal problems. He would follow his orders here, if someone would just tell him what they were.</p>
<p>The Arusian sky was filling Lance's mind. Earth was meaningless to him. Everything he needed—well, everything still <em>alive</em> that he needed—was here. He looked around the whole team, and then at Daniel… who looked ready to explode. Uh oh.</p>
<p>"…Okay, but <em>staying here</em> isn't a priority of mine." Daniel was very proud of his calm tone. He didn't fit. He didn't fit on a fucking <em>Explorer Team</em>. They had magic robot lions he couldn't compete with, and all he had were too many <em>feelings</em> and no options or answers. He wanted to stay with the team! But the team—he looked over at Vince, and even Romelle. Hoping for at least <em>some</em> kind of support.</p>
<p>Romelle didn't feel she had much to offer on the subject, though she sympathized with Daniel. Earth was irrelevant to her; staying on Arus was more of an issue. But Arus itself didn't understand these damn lions, and she knew Arus was not where they belonged. And most of all… "We've all suffered enough at the hands of the Drules," she said quietly. "Perhaps stopping them should be the focus?"</p>
<p>Though he wasn't hearing lion voices, <em>thankfully</em>, Vince couldn't help thinking that sounded easier said than done. <em>They</em> weren't the ones being asked to accept an uncertain 'bond' to save a planet they barely knew anything about. He almost wondered if they should even be here, but they were still a team… he personally missed Earth, he missed his moms, he missed life being normal and boring. But that last ship had sailed a long time ago—and the first two, as best he could tell, were still on the table. "We know Voltron visited the Rim, right? If the lions are spacecraft, they're not <em>trapped</em> here."</p>
<p>"That's not…" None of them got it! Daniel stood up, steadying the salalizard on his head. If he didn't get out of here, he would lose it. "I need to take a walk." He left without another word, feeling the lizard curl its tail comfortingly around his shoulders.</p>
<p>"Kid…" Lance trailed off. His gut feeling, the result of months of Daniel-wrangling, told him not to push it right now. And he felt the lion's comforting warmth curling around him, as if reassuring him… so he sighed and didn't follow.</p>
<p>Looking after him, Pidge exhaled slowly, then turned to Keith. He would've liked to run for it again too, but he didn't have that option. "Orders, sir?"</p>
<p>Damn it, why did he always have to do that?</p>
<p>Their commander closed his eyes. What orders could he possibly give in this situation? "These people need these lions," he murmured. The Alliance would not tell them to just abandon people to the Drules, surely. "If they can't get the locals to bond… and these lions are choosing us, for some reason… then we continue on this path. We have to." He felt the Lion of Storms growl approvingly in the back of his mind. "I'd feel better making that an order if I knew where this path <em>leads</em>, but…"</p>
<p>"Trust me, boss." Hunk shook his head. "Unless this was a 'me thing' too, and I've got all <em>kinds</em> of reasons to be pretty sure it wasn't, ain't any way to know that until you get there."</p>
<p>"I hate to say it, but I believe that."</p>
<p>"Yeah, got the feeling you're right…"</p>
<p>"Seems reasonable."</p>
<p>'Reasonable' probably wasn't the word Keith would have chosen. "Hunk, did your lion say anything about the locals? Should we be… telling Princess Allura what's going on with this?"</p>
<p>Hunk blinked. He hadn't thought about that, either. Of course the princess might find all of this relevant. "Uh. That did not come up. You think I oughta tell her?"</p>
<p>"I don't know. We can't promise her anything, when we don't even know ourselves what we may or may not be getting into…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"The Daughter of Arus has already been informed."</em>
</p>
<p>His eyes widened. And glowed. "Wait, what?!"</p>
<p>A few of the others jumped; Keith recoiled in confusion. "I just said—"</p>
<p>"—No, sorry boss, not <em>you.</em> Uh, apparently the princess has 'already been informed'. Except Yellow—uh—my lion already told me <em>he</em> doesn't talk to her."</p>
<p><em>"You are welcome to call me Yellow, Earthwarder. It </em>is <em>one of my names."</em></p>
<p><em>Oh, well that's a relief, what the hell do you mean the princess has already been informed?! </em>Everyone was staring at him now, waiting for some further explanation.</p>
<p>So of course Yellow decided not to provide one.<em>"I was not unclear."</em></p>
<p>"He says he wasn't unclear."</p>
<p>"That's a fucking matter of opinion."</p>
<p>"Right?"</p>
<p>"Alright, enough." Keith was pacing again. "Everyone involved in this has their own agenda, clearly." His team and their mission—whatever they could salvage of it. Arus and its leadership. The lions themselves. "But we can all agree on two things: all of the lions have to be found, and the Drules have to be stopped when they return. We focus on that right now, and deal with the rest when we get there. It's what we do best, right? We're an Explorer Team."</p>
<p>Answering nods swept around the room. "Fuck yeah we are."</p>
<p>"Good. It's late now; let's call it a night. And just keep doing what we can."</p>
<p>"Yes sir."</p>
<p>"Yessir."</p>
<p>"Roger that, boss." Hunk hesitated. "…Wait, how am I s'posed to sleep with my eyes doin' this stupid—" As if on cue, they flickered yellow again. "Yellow, I know you said you're not doin' that on purpose, BUT IT SURE ACTS LIKE YOU ARE!"</p>
<p>Pidge facepalmed, and Lance snorted. "Try sunglasses? If not for you, for <em>us."</em></p>
<p>"If only we had sunglasses, bro!"</p>
<p>"…Point."</p>
<p>With that the team dispersed, minds racing with more information—and more sheer <em>confusion</em>—than any other point of the mission. And as Hunk opened the hatch to his quarters, he felt Yellow purring in his mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You handled that very well, my cub."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Your standards are so low they're underground, dude.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Even if that were accurate, it would be… thematically appropriate. Don't you agree?"</em>
</p>
<p>…He supposed there was no arguing with that.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Allura had, indeed, been informed of what was happening with the Great Lions. She was practically bouncing with excitement as she waited in a reasonably intact meeting room. It wasn't proper and she did not care in the least—this was no time for decorum!</p>
<p><em>Arus will be saved</em>. Everything she and her father had worked towards, everything she'd hoped for, everything she'd <em>believed in</em>. It was all in motion.</p>
<p>…Far from finished. Far from certain. But in motion! For this moment she was going to embrace the optimism. They needed this… she needed this.</p>
<p>
  <em>"The Earth shakes, Daughter of Arus. Our brother is Bonded once more."</em>
</p>
<p>An indignant squeaking caught her attention, and a grin tugged at her lips. She'd sent mice to fetch Coran and Larmina, who of course could not <em>speak to</em> the mice. But they had their ways of making themselves understood.</p>
<p>Sure enough, both of them entered the room a few moments later, and she motioned them closer with a smile. "Coran, Larmina!" The mice they'd been following hopped up onto her shoulders, and both the Arusians they'd brought eyed her with a mix of confused trepidation. "I have some good news."</p>
<p>Coran was always in favor of good news. "Yes?"</p>
<p>"It's starting to happen!" She leaned over the table, eyes bright. "I've just learned the Yellow Lion is awake and beginning to move."</p>
<p>"…To move?" In these trying times, perhaps movement was all they could ask for, but it felt like so little. Then again, with all he knew about King Alfor's long search for information, moving also seemed like quite a <em>lot</em>.</p>
<p>"Yes. He has claimed and bonded to one of the Earthlings—I believe the large one they called Hunk."</p>
<p><em>Huh</em>. Larmina blinked. <em>Guess it's a good thing I didn't want to throw him in the lake.</em> She considered bringing up the one she'd seen at the lake, but maybe it wasn't the time—he'd seemed to be having significantly less luck with whatever he was doing, and Auntie was too excited. No need to dump <em>bad</em> news on her right now.</p>
<p>"Black had only a few details, but this much is certain. One of the Great Lions has returned."</p>
<p>"That certainly is good news," Coran agreed delicately. He understood the Princess' excitement, to be sure. It <em>was</em> wonderful news. But he'd also have liked to know more, much more… he'd barely even spoken to the one called Hunk, and—</p>
<p>"Didn't they just get here?" Larmina asked.</p>
<p>Yes, that.</p>
<p>"Yes, but it is beginning. And it means that those who can answer the call of the lions truly <em>can</em> wake them." There had been no guarantees of that. Only desperate hope as all other options failed. But Black Lion had been right all along… and she remembered her talk with Keith. He'd been abruptly summoned back to his team by the arrival of their missing 'ninja', but it didn't change what he'd told her. "We must hope the others being called by the Lions will soon find the way to answer their call, so that they all may wake."</p>
<p>That had not exactly been what Larmina was asking, thought she supposed it was all valid. Coran decided to try it more clearly, and tactfully, because his worries were very similar.</p>
<p>"Princess… I feel the need to point out that we barely even know these men and lady." He opted not to bother pointing out that the lady was also Polluxian; Allura had already made it clear she wasn't interested in letting anyone pursue that grudge. And really, aside from being careful, they couldn't afford to alienate any possible allies right now. But they also couldn't afford to trust blindly—not someone of Pollux, <em>or</em> of the Alliance. "Shouldn't we be a little more… cautious?"</p>
<p>It was a valid question; Allura nodded. "I trust in the Great Lions and their choices." If she couldn't trust in them, what did she have? "But I agree that we should get to know them better, and to see what it is the Lions see."</p>
<p>Larmina snorted. "What, don't the magic lion robots just tell you what they're thinking?"</p>
<p>Coran's eyebrows shot up at the tone, though he wasn't quite sure why he was surprised; he knew what to expect out of Lady Larmina by now. And he completely understood her skepticism. He did trust Allura, implicitly… but secondhand trust in some ancient mythical machines was more difficult.</p>
<p>That was something Allura could understand, too. She was mindful of the fact that being able to hear the Lion of Storms gave her a certain advantage… she had always <em>believed</em> in the Lions, but speaking to them was something far greater.</p>
<p>As for the actual question, Black had said fairly little. "Based on the tales, and what I've sensed, there is a need for trust most of all. The Lions are not searching for a master or a servant, but a partner."</p>
<p>Oh, well that was a relief. Except not. "Okay. So if the offworlders are their partners, what does that make us?"</p>
<p><em>Very good question</em>. Coran turned to Allura, awaiting an answer also. The necessity of alien strangers to waking the Lions—to saving Arus—was not something King Alfor had ever anticipated in <em>his</em> presence…</p>
<p>Allura felt Black Lion's reassuring growl, and nodded slowly. "Perhaps once they are fully awake, they can tell us more." It wasn't a good answer and she knew it; their expressions confirmed it. "I will try to find a better answer. But I <em>know</em> the Great Lions wish to protect us, and for now it seems these Earthlings are what is needed for them to do that."</p>
<p>Sighing in frustration, Coran nodded his acceptance of that. They didn't have much choice either way—the Drules <em>would</em> be returning, whether they were at peace with the Earthlings bonding to the Lions or not. Larmina looked over at him and sighed too, coming to a similar conclusion. "Okay, so we're still counting on the alien strangers to stop the alien invaders, and then we'll just hope everything works out. Great."</p>
<p>"Do you see another option?" He would love to have another option.</p>
<p>"I don't have any options, I'm just expressing my strong displeasure." She kicked the wall in a huff. "What are <em>we</em> supposed to do?"</p>
<p>"Get to know them better." That much seemed imperative.</p>
<p>"Yes. I would like to think they are more friends than potential new threats… or even just allies of convenience." Allura would take allies of convenience, if that was what was required. But she hoped for something more.</p>
<p>Larmina grimaced. "Maybe I'm better off leaving that to you. I can hardly even talk to them."</p>
<p>"You're one of the five people we have access to who can communicate with them at all," Coran pointed out. And it might really have been four; the wisdom of having Lady Hys as a liaison with the irreverent offworlders was questionable. "Besides, you don't need to have a direct conversation with them to learn about them. I hear you're quite sneaky."</p>
<p>He could not exactly say <em>spy on them, our Princess is too trusting</em> out loud. But he was pretty sure the idea got across. Larmina nodded in response, thinking back to the one she'd seen at the lake; he had offered to help her with Common, which could only help even more if she needed to spy on others…</p>
<p>"Surely one of them is someone you can handle being about?" Allura thought back to the dinner and smiled faintly. "They do seem to be diverse personalities." In fact, if they could become friends, she was curious as to how such a group formed in the first place—though her advisor had offered one hunch. "Coran, you said you believe one of them to be a soldier, correct? Do you think more of them might be?"</p>
<p>"It is certainly possible. I've really only spoken with their leader. We should try to discern if the others are—I can talk with this Hunk and see what I learn, if you like."</p>
<p>Allura nodded; Larmina frowned. She didn't like the sound of <em>soldiers,</em> either. "The lizard hunters didn't seem very soldier-y." Then again, what was soldier-y, really? <em>She</em> was practically a full member of the militia.</p>
<p>"…Lizard hunters?"</p>
<p>"Two of them, uh… Daniel and Vince, they said. They were wandering around looking for lizards. In the crypts. I took them somewhere else though, maybe we should put a couple of 'do not enter' signs up around the castle."</p>
<p>Allura considered that, then gave her niece a sly grin. "Or maybe they could use a proper tour, so they would know where not to go, and such?"</p>
<p>It was very clear that she was expected to volunteer, and she wasn't going to do it <em>that</em> easily. "Seems like that's better for someone who lived in the castle for more than a few months, but I'll think about it."</p>
<p>The princess grinned, and even Coran had to stifle a chuckle. "I'm sure you could do an admirable job. It might even be kind of fun."</p>
<p>…Fun?</p>
<p>Larmina gave her best <em>I'm stuck with this, aren't I,</em> look. Allura just kept grinning. <em>You sure are</em>.</p>
<p>"…Okay fine. But let me have another Common lesson or two with Nanny first. She hates the offworlders, spending time with her will make me like them better."</p>
<p>Coran didn't stifle the laugh this time. "And I will see what I can learn about the Yellow Lion's chosen Earthling."</p>
<p>"Perfect." Allura smiled and nodded to both of them as they departed, then reached up and scritched the mice behind the ears. She felt lighter than she had in months… perhaps years, even. Since long before the attacks, she couldn't remember this kind of happiness.</p>
<p>There was <em>hope</em>.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>In high Arusian orbit, the empty sky split open as if punctured by a knife. Space around the hole seemed to peel back, revealing a hulk of dark steel and swept spikes. The rip sealed itself as the vessel fully emerged: a <em>Kolushi'in</em>-class cruiser, the blue-violet glow of its piercer drive fading as it settled into real space.</p>
<p>There wasn't much time.</p>
<p>It was possible that Graktag had overpromised what he could do for Governor Tarlok—or, should things go poorly, what he could do <em>to</em> him. He was already running much later than promised. But he was a mere Second Captain, lord of a cruiser and its support craft. He could only detach from the fleet with permission from his own superiors, and it had taken time to get that. He <em>may</em> have acquired it under false pretenses…</p>
<p>So far as the fleet knew, the <em>Furled Banner</em> was simply delivering some high-value prisoners from the most recent conquests to the nearest jumpgate. A stop at Arus was not part of that plan. If they took too long to reach the jumpgate, there would be questions.</p>
<p>Graktag did not want questions.</p>
<p>"Contact the castle. Tarlok had better have a <em>very</em> good explanation for this."</p>
<p>"As you command." There was a brief silence as his comms officer opened the frequency; as she worked, her expression became steadily more concerned. "Our hails are not being received."</p>
<p>"Continue until he answers, then! I don't care if he's sleeping like a gravehound pup—"</p>
<p>"—With respect, sir, I did not say he isn't answering." She looked away from her console. "There is no receiver detected on the governor's contact frequency."</p>
<p><em>What</em>. He glanced at the message saved in his personal commset, then tried to hail the castle himself. A short error chirp was the only response.</p>
<p>Maybe Tarlok really had been in trouble. It was almost unthinkable that this could have been a serious issue. He was soft and weak, a mere bureaucrat. This was supposed to be a petty inconvenience! "Comms, check all diplomatic frequencies. Sensors, ground scan on the castle environs and the capital. Report anything that seems unusual."</p>
<p>"As you command, sir."</p>
<p>"Running the frequencies."</p>
<p>Silence cloaked the bridge for a couple of minutes, then the sensor tech spoke up. "There's a ship by the castle. Small vessel, independent design—something called a <em>Xaela</em>. Identifying data acquired. Running it through the…" He fell silent. "…what madness is <em>this</em> supposed to be?"</p>
<p>They didn't have time to wonder about madness. "Report!"</p>
<p>"It's a wanted vessel, sir. Associated with a band of escaped Earthling slaves. They were enlisted as gladiators, defeated many challengers—defeated a <em>robeast!</em> Then they broke out and fled Korrinoth on the day of their victory feast…" He frowned as the screen kept scrolling. "…and had previously been responsible for the deaths of a troop frigate's full platoon…" His voice was becoming weaker with every word. "…and they are believed to be accompanied by the Crown Prince's traitorous a'kuri…"</p>
<p>Graktag had heard enough. "If this is your idea of a prank, I'll have your—" The threat was silenced before he could even begin as he looked at the monitor himself.</p>
<p>Every word of it was right there. It wasn't a joke. How in Dra'ki'iri's own sacred name was this not some elaborate joke?!</p>
<p>He considered his options. The <em>Furled Banner</em> carried no infantry to speak of: a single squad of warriors to guard the prisoners they were carrying. An ultimatum wasn't likely to be useful—there was nothing left to bomb. Graktag nodded slowly. His duty was clear. He'd come here intending to win a favor from a bureaucrat; it seemed he'd uncovered far more.</p>
<p>"Deploy one of the surveillance drones. Tune it to the <em>Xaela</em>, in case it leaves. We proceed to the jumpgate and report our findings."</p>
<p>"Shouldn't we just blow their ship to bits?"</p>
<p>That was one of the gunners, and Graktag scoffed. "And give them warning? Do you remember how long we sat around in this world's orbit waiting for the ground troops to find their <em>king?</em> Never mind <em>escaped</em> <em>slaves</em>. No. We leave surveillance in place, and return with overwhelming force."</p>
<p>"As you command, Captain." There was a slight lurch. "Surveillance drones programmed and deployed." Standard procedure called for one active and one backup. They couldn't be too cautious with this.</p>
<p>Nodding, Graktag turned to the helm. Whatever this planet had done, it would suffer dearly for it. "Engage the piercer drive. We are leaving."</p>
<p>Once again, the sky split open. And as swiftly as the Drule cruiser had appeared, it was gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Knight of the Waters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Allura's mind was still giddy with the thought of the Lions awakening. Coran had gone to see about the new 'Bonded' of the Yellow Lion, leaving Allura with Larmina to ponder how to get to know the rest of their potential partners better.</p>
<p>Very strong vehka brew was involved. Allura needed all the alertness she could get right now.</p>
<p>"I wish I could speak to them more freely," the princess was musing aloud as she drank. "I'm afraid I'll tell them something they have to learn on their own—I'm supposed to be able to nudge them, but—"</p>
<p>"Auntie, slow down." Larmina sipped from her own mug and shook her head. "You are <em>totally</em> on a vehka rush right now."</p>
<p>The rush wasn't just from the vehka, but her niece wasn't wrong, either. "I know… we've just been waiting for so <em>long."</em></p>
<p>"Yeah." Frown. "For offworlders…" She held up a hand against Allura's reproachful look. "I know, I know. I don't have to be happy about it, okay?"</p>
<p>"I suppose you don't." It was still fair, she decided. But if the Earthlings were what she believed, Larmina would come around. "But no matter what questionable reasons the Lions might have for choosing these outsiders, they <em>will</em> help us. I believe that." She <em>had to</em> believe that. "Now that one has awakened, I just wish we knew… how are the others trying to answer? What progress have they made?"</p>
<p>Larmina frowned; that was a broad question. But she could offer one thing. "Well… I did see one of them who'd been swimming in the lake? With his clothes on, no less. And he was petting a bunch of gorcas to make a lion happy, or something." Allura was now curious, looking up and nodding for her to continue; she snorted. "Is petting the cephalopods supposed to be part of making a lion appear? …Don't you <em>dare</em> say yes, that was supposed to be a joke."</p>
<p>"No… that would not have a lion 'appear', but it could be considered a gesture of good will." Allura tapped her chin thoughtfully. Lake Almeria was large and deep; it was the correct place to be, yet not the correct path to take. "It sounds as if he's close… perhaps a small assist might be an option."</p>
<p>Larmina arched an eyebrow. Auntie had <em>just said</em> she couldn't tell them too much. "What, are you going to paint him a sign or something?"</p>
<p>"No, no. Just chat with him." She grinned. "A nudge, right? I have an idea." Downing the rest of her vehka brew, she gave her niece a quick hug and headed for the lake.</p>
<p>Watching her go, Larmina thought to her own duties regarding the offworlders and sighed. Had more Common lessons with Nanny <em>really</em> felt like a better option than leading an Earthling or two around the castle? What in the five hells had she been thinking?</p>
<p>Well, the sooner she got there, the sooner she could be done for the day. So she headed down to the tunnels.</p>
<p>Lady Hys was waiting. "Ach, Lady Larmina, you are late."</p>
<p>Late? How was she late? Precise timekeeping in the caves was not really a thing. Though if anyone could do it, Nanny was probably the one. "I was doing important royal things," she retorted, and dropped into a chair. "So what am I learning today?"</p>
<p>"More vocabulary." The governess plopped a large book down in front of her. "You have enough grammar to be <em>intelligible</em> to the hooligans, do you not? It must suffice for now…"</p>
<p>Larmina started to protest—it was the inability to string proper grammar together that made her feel dumbest about the language—then remembered the lake and paused. "Yeah, it's enough to get by. I talked to one of them yesterday, he actually said my Common was good! He says it's really hard to learn."</p>
<p>Nanny scoffed. "It is nothing compared to some. Be fortunate you were never obligated to learn the insect language! But I confess, you seem to have taken better to your language lessons than most of your <em>others</em>."</p>
<p>That was… not untrue, but also really hadn't been necessary, and Larmina shot her sullen glare. Then, as she remembered something else, it turned into her very sweetest smile. "The Earthling even taught me a new word."</p>
<p>"…Oh did he?" She clearly knew better than to ask.</p>
<p>Wasn't going to save her. "He sure did," Larmina confirmed brightly. "'Fucking'!"</p>
<p>Allendar would later tell her they'd heard Lady Hys yelling all the way out at the guard post.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Hunk had, to his surprise, actually slept. Not at all surprisingly, he hadn't slept well. His dreams had shifted between robotic vultures juggling keys, a giant snake wearing lipstick and flirting with the <em>Falcon</em>—he blamed Daniel for that one—and wandering through an endless desert where the sand itself seemed to glow gold. It had felt like he was looking for something, but every time he got close, it was gone…</p>
<p>He knew who to blame for <em>that</em> one, too. And the moment his eyes opened, they glowed, and he was <em>immediately</em> over this.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah! Good morning, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>"Oh hell no." They weren't doing this. <em>He</em> wasn't doing this. It was too damned early and his brain was not ready for robot lions, bonded or not.</p>
<p>Yellow just chuckled, because of course he did.</p>
<p>"Yo!" Hunk barged out into the rec room. "Team No Voices!" Everyone but Lance and Sven was there—had he slept in? Well, who could blame him? "Normal people! I need some <em>normal</em>, you're comin' with me!"</p>
<p>Pidge and Keith eyed him, exchanged shrugs, and went back to whatever they'd been doing. Vince, who'd been sitting on the couch and pouting about not having a datapad, looked up much more eagerly. "I'm normal!" The ninja next to him snerked, and he glowered in return. <em>I am, damn it!</em></p>
<p>"Going… where?" Romelle asked. She was not against the idea, except she wasn't clear on what the idea <em>was</em>.</p>
<p>"Hell if I know, sister." Hunk waved his arms dramatically. "Let's find some scrap metal and do somethin' with it, ain't a <em>shortage</em> around here."</p>
<p>"Actually that sounds pretty fun…" Vince stopped and realized what he was saying. <em>Crap, I am weird</em>.</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Daniel stood up. He was the only actual normal person left, and he really didn't want the reminder. Nope. Gathering up his salalizards—all four of them, like a normal person—he left the rec room without a word.</p>
<p>"…Uh."</p>
<p>Keith looked around as if expecting Lance to go after him, except Lance had already left to work on his volcano problem. Which meant… <em>I am the commander.</em> "I'll go check on him." He stood and left as well, hearing a faint growl of approval in his mind.</p>
<p>…<em>Okay then</em>. Hunk shook it off; if he were Daniel he might not have wanted to hang out with the freaky glowy eyes either. Hell, he didn't want to anyway, and they were <em>his eyes</em>.</p>
<p>Mercifully, Romelle was still confused about the plan. "Scrap metal…?" What did they need with garbage?</p>
<p>"Dead metal that ain't doin' anything," the big engineer clarified. "It needs a new purpose in life." Which did not clarify anything at all, really.</p>
<p>"Dead metal," she echoed, shaking her head. Either she still didn't understand the nuances of Common, or she just still didn't understand the nuances of Hunk. Probably the latter.</p>
<p>Vince gave them both a mildly offended look. "Can we not pretend metal is at all adjacent to ghosts?"</p>
<p>"No death metal either?" Shrug. "Sure, don't have my music here anyway. But look, there's a bunch of busted-up ships or whatever out there, yeah? I know the Arusians already picked over all the stuff, but," he straightened and crossed his arms, "if I can't get us to build a decent grill outta what's left, my name ain't Master Blaster Hunk Garrett!"</p>
<p><em>"Perhaps it is Earthwarder,"</em> Yellow suggested, and Hunk's eyes glowed.</p>
<p>"…I hate him."</p>
<p>He'd grumbled that quietly enough that the others didn't hear, which was probably just as well. "A grill?" Vince grinned. That sounded like a great thing to have handy, if he were honest… he wondered if the traitorous food that was <em>Arusian mushrooms</em> would taste good grilled.</p>
<p>"What is a grill?" Romelle asked, knowing precisely what kind of answer she was going to get.</p>
<p>She got it—a completely dumbfounded look from Hunk and a small snicker from Vince. "…It's what humans do <em>real</em> cooking on, and now we <em>definitely</em> need one. C'mon!"</p>
<p>"He's not wrong."</p>
<p>"Okay…" That, as usual, had not clarified anything. But it sounded like she was going to get an answer soon enough, anyway.</p>
<p>Waving to Pidge, who didn't look at all disappointed to be missing whatever was about to happen, Hunk led the other two out the nearest hatch. "We're goin' on a scrap hunt!" Though as soon as they were outside, that seemed easier said than done; he didn't actually remember where any of the junk they'd seen <em>was</em>. Or more to the point, the stuff was just kind of everywhere… except for the places it wasn't… he looked around the meadow and frowned, then headed for the scorched area in front of the forest. It seemed like as good an option as any.</p>
<p>He was <em>not</em> going to the desert.</p>
<p>Vince still felt like this sounded more fun than anything on Arus so far; granted, that bar was pretty low. He kept his eyes open, but the meadow itself had been picked pretty clean. "What do we need, exactly?"</p>
<p>"Whatever we can get, little dude!" Hunk grinned. "No but seriously—your basic grill is real simple, yeah? You need somethin' to put the food on and somethin' to hold the fire in. Anything else we can get to make it cooler is just a bonus."</p>
<p>"Sounds right." Vince nodded. "Gran Diva had a wombat painted on the side of hers."</p>
<p>"No kiddin'? That sounds <em>adorable</em>. Don't grill wombats though, poor things have enough problems."</p>
<p>"Nah, she just likes them for some reason. Them and flamingoes."</p>
<p>"Good taste!"</p>
<p>Romelle had given up on following the conversation, and was keeping an eye on the ground. So far she'd seen several hopping insects and a few leaves that had blown in from the forest, but no metal. She wondered if it really mattered. <em>At least it is something to do?</em></p>
<p>"There!" Hunk caught sight of a glint in the distance. His hunch looked to have been right; the stretch of scorched earth hadn't just been from a little errant weapons fire. This kind of mess took crashed fighters and jet fuel. "That's a start."</p>
<p>Looking up at where he was pointing, Romelle narrowed her eyes skeptically. It looked like it had once been an aircraft wing. Now it was a rusted and broken frame, more holes than metal. "I hope you know what you're doing, because I'm…" She started to say <em>not so sure</em>, but what did she know about it? After a moment she hedged. "Confused."</p>
<p>Hunk reflexively opened his mouth, to ask her what exactly Big Dumb Hunk had ever done to make her think he knew what he was doing. And then he paused.</p>
<p>Why <em>are you hiding?</em></p>
<p>"…Trust me, sister. I'm an expert." He winked, and his eyes glowed. "Oh, come <em>on</em>."</p>
<p>She gave him a sympathetic half-smile. "Your eyes are still annoying you?"</p>
<p>"Like you wouldn't <em>believe</em>."</p>
<p>"Does it feel as weird as it looks?" Vince asked as they reached the broken wing.</p>
<p>"Yeah? No? It's freaky. Doesn't really 'feel' like anything, I guess, but everything goin' all yellow is just weird."</p>
<p>"Huh. Like the world is getting highlighted?"</p>
<p>"Welp, hadn't thought of it like that, but it's highlighter-vision now."</p>
<p>Vince snorted and started circling the wreckage; Romelle giggled. Though as their attention turned to the metal, she still wasn't convinced… she poked at one of the corroded supports and made a face.</p>
<p>"This grill must be incredible to be worth… this."</p>
<p>"Once he cooks something on it, you'll understand." The younger engineer found a crumpled sheet of metal on the ground and picked it up. It might be useful.</p>
<p>Hunk was pacing the area, poking at the frame and nodding. "Think I see what they were doin'. Take the components and the reinforcing bits, but they didn't need the metal. Not the base stuff, anyway. Can't really make weapons or armor outta aerospace alloy, and that's probably what they needed, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Probably, yeah."</p>
<p>"Possibly." Romelle picked up a few scraps that looked as if they'd been punched through, either by weapons or scavengers. "With all that was destroyed, perhaps they didn't have the… facilities to reforge things, also?"</p>
<p>"Could be," Hunk agreed, grabbing a large support and yanking. It came free in a shower of rust. "You wouldn't wanna do that in the caves unless you're real sure about your ventilation… and it'd get you some <em>unwanted attention</em> outside."</p>
<p>Vince hesitated a moment, the words reminding him that the Drules were still coming… nope. He was <em>not</em> going there right now. Scrap was way more fun. He found a bundle of what looked like viable wires half-buried in the dirt, and collected them; they could be useful for <em>something</em>, though probably not a grill.</p>
<p>Still more bemused than anything, Romelle followed the engineers to a few different wrecks. At least she could carry things. And she found this interesting… both of them seemed more animated and confident than she'd ever seen them, even if Hunk did occasionally stop to curse at his lion. It was hard not to smile at their enthusiasm, and to wonder what this team must have been like before. In lighter times…</p>
<p><em>We were all different once</em>. <em>Perhaps we can all heal… I hope.</em></p>
<p>"I think we're good!" Hunk finally declared, looking over their pile of metal. "Not gonna be able to have this spit fire or anything cool, but we oughta at least make somethin' decent!" Frown. "We uh, should head back to the castle though, yeah? Not gonna be able to weld this thing together, gonna hafta be gravity."</p>
<p>Vince grinned, then flushed as his stomach growled. "I'm getting hungry just thinking about grilled food."</p>
<p>"I'm gettin' hungry because…" Hunk paused, and his eyes widened. "Uh, I think I was in such a hurry to get out here I didn't even eat breakfast?" He mentally retraced his steps. There was no denying it. "I forgot BREAKFAST!" <em>Yella Fella, what did you </em>do <em>to me?!</em></p>
<p>Yellow purred, which was <em>not</em> a suitable apology.</p>
<p>Vince burst into laughter. "It's all that glowing."</p>
<p>"Yeah, sure." The big engineer snorted. "Glowy eyes: not a part of a balanced breakfast, <em>or</em> a balanced bomb guy." Though he hesitated at the last part. Sure, he felt off-balance. Was that the same thing as unbalanced?</p>
<p>
  <em>Taking off the mask would be a whole lot easier if I knew where it stopped and I start.</em>
</p>
<p>Noticing the hesitation, Vince eyed him. "Balanced?" That was not a word he'd have associated with the big guy, ever. But he seemed different today, in ways he couldn't fully place…</p>
<p>Hunk matched his look and shrugged. "Happens, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. Maybe it did.</p>
<p>Romelle looked between them, and then at her armful of metal. "Well, should we go and get this… grill thing put together?"</p>
<p>"Heck yeah, sister." With a sweeping gesture, Hunk started leading them back to the castle. "Let's do this!"</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>This swimming search session wasn't nearly as intensive as his first couple, but Sven wasn't really looking for anything this time. And not just because he already knew where the entrance was—not that it mattered, he couldn't get to it—but because he couldn't stop thinking about what Hunk had said.</p>
<p>
  <em>The lions want us to stay.</em>
</p>
<p>He popped up for air and relaxed on the surface for a while, letting himself float around the lake. Staying had not been a part of the plan. Even as they'd started realizing that the original plan wasn't necessarily going to work… staying had not been part of <em>any</em> plan. At least not his plan.</p>
<p>Though really, had he ever had a plan? He'd been indecisive from the get-go. Just going along with whatever the group decided, really. He was so used to needing to make the others around him happy, that he'd refused to actually make a <em>choice</em>.</p>
<p>Even coming to Arus to begin with, he'd just gone along. If he'd objected, insisted on wanting to go home, he'd be letting the team and the mission down. But a decision wouldn't have made actually coming here any easier, because he knew damn well his parents wanted him back. They were surely worried by now… so he'd just agreed to go with the majority, and told himself he was being a supportive second in command.</p>
<p>Though why should he be surprised he couldn't commit to a decision? When had he ever gotten to make a choice—one that was truly his? The only genuine decision Sven had ever made was to forego college and become a Galaxy Alliance navigator. But even that didn't feel like it had actually been <em>his</em> decision, considering how it ended up. The whole point of becoming a navigator was to get off of Earth, and that was…</p>
<p>…Really not how it went.</p>
<p>—He'd never been as angry with his parents as the day he'd gotten his first assignment, just after graduation. They'd been congratulating him the day before. Telling him how proud they were of him. What a joke! And not the kind of joke he <em>liked</em>, either. He remembered storming to their hotel room, assignment orders in hand, the Sergeant's condescending tone ringing in his ears.</p>
<p>
  <em>"What was the point of becoming a top-tier navigator just to have daddy pull strings to keep you safe behind a desk?"</em>
</p>
<p>What <em>had</em> been the point? His mother interfering he'd seen coming, he knew she'd try to keep him as safe as possible, no matter what he wanted. But his father? Councilman Sebastian Holgersson had not been thrilled with his decision not to get a formal education, he knew. But he'd at least thought the man respected his choice. Apparently that wasn't the case.</p>
<p>He'd barely made it in the door before the anger escaped.</p>
<p>"Deep Space Defense Force?!" The most boring job a navigator could get. There wasn't any actual navigation involved. Math, yes. Some similar principles, sure. But it wasn't <em>navigation</em>. It was mostly tracking asteroids, from behind a computer. Occasionally you got to send an email to intel, but not even that very often.</p>
<p>His parents had stared at him wide-eyed; he wasn't known for yelling. Finally his father had nodded.</p>
<p>"I see you've heard." The assignment orders crumpled in Sven's hands. "Your mother and I thought it was in your best interest."</p>
<p>"My best interest or yours?" he'd snapped.</p>
<p>"This family's!" His mother closed her mouth in shock, whatever she was about to say forgotten. His father wasn't known for yelling either. "And I don't like your tone."</p>
<p>"What does that mean?" Sven couldn't see how his staying on Earth was better for the family's interest. Their personal interests maybe, but why did their personal interests trump his own?</p>
<p>"It means you staying here, not only keeps you safe, and <em>alive</em>, it keeps you available." Sven took a deep breath, biting back the words that wanted to come out, letting his father finish even though he didn't want to hear it. "You'll be able to attend council functions and state dinners, this family will look together in front of the press and other politicians. Which as you well know will allow me and your mother to keep our jobs in the coming elections."</p>
<p>Of course. Now his father getting involved made sense. He was a good person, really. Just very… focused. The better position he held at work, the more money he made; the more money he made, the better off the family would be. The family came first… that was his main goal. Always had been, and always would be, no matter what it took.—</p>
<p>And that understanding had been why Sven caved. He'd backed down. Apologized for his outburst, said he understood and respected their decision.</p>
<p>But he hadn't really respected it. Like they hadn't respected him.</p>
<p>In the end, it hadn't mattered for long. He'd ended up off Earth anyways, though even that wasn't a call he'd really made himself. When he'd gotten bumped to an Explorer Team Sven had never felt freer, more in control of his life, but had he really been? Nothing surrounding this assignment had been his choice. It was all just a happy accident that he just went along with. It was even political nonsense that had gotten him here!</p>
<p>Thoughts that usually stayed in the back of his mind, safely pushed away, began surfacing. He'd always thought returning to Earth was inevitable. Not only inevitable but something he <em>should</em> do, and should even look forward to. He had responsibilities. To his parents, friends… hell, even the Alliance. He was supposed to travel across the galaxy, have adventures, and then return to Earth and put his family at ease.</p>
<p>Wasn't he?</p>
<p>Even with a magical robot lion running amok in his brain, who was being so polite and quiet, he still felt <em>bound </em>to that planet. Was it really what he wanted, though? To go back to Earth?</p>
<p>No… he didn't. He wanted freedom, adventure, everything that went along with space travel. But it wasn't as if this… what had Hunk called it? This 'bonding' thing promised him that either. It would just end with him tied down somewhere else, wouldn't it?</p>
<p>A soft chuckle echoed in the back of his mind, and he scowled. He'd jinxed it. "I'm glad you find my inner turmoil amusing." He was not glad.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I don't at all find it amusing. I do find it odd, that a cub with such tenacity and determination would so easily bend to the will of others?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Tenacity—what?" Was that a compliment or an insult?</p>
<p>
  <em>"Both. Neither. It does not matter. What matters is what you will decide."</em>
</p>
<p>"What I decide? You mean as long as I decide what you want." He knew he was being cynical, but that was always how it worked. "As long as I bond to you?"</p>
<p>Growl. <em>"No. I want you to make a decision. It must be purely your choice, your wish. Why would I want to bond to someone who has no desire to bond with me? I have higher standards than that."</em></p>
<p>"I don't know what I want!" Well, he did and he didn't. "And it doesn't matter, because even if I did you're hidden in an <em>underwater cave!"</em></p>
<p>"Are you alright?"</p>
<p>He startled at a very different female voice, one definitely in his ears and not in his mind, and whirled around in the shallows. Princess Allura stood on the shoreline, looking a little concerned. Apparently his thrashing around and screaming had once again attracted a royal to his lake—when had it become <em>his </em>lake? It was surely <em>their</em> lake! Oh, he was losing his mind.</p>
<p>"…Yes, I'm fine, just frustrated." He should have stopped talking, but he was at his boiling point. And she <em>had</em> asked. Shouldn't have asked if she didn't want an answer. "I'm being lectured by a magic robot lion on my poor decision-making skills—"</p>
<p><em>"You are not." </em>She sounded both fond and exasperated.</p>
<p>"—And at this point it doesn't matter what I decide—"</p>
<p>
  <em>"It does."</em>
</p>
<p>"Will you stop interrupting me?!" Allura quirked her head at him and gave a small chuckle, and he winced. Right. When he yelled out loud at the lion, other people could hear it. "Sorry… but like I was <em>saying</em>, my decision won't matter because I can't seem to get to her either way."</p>
<p>She watched him as he wound down, then gave a small, wry smile. "So you aren't fine," she translated.</p>
<p>"…Maybe that wasn't the word," he admitted, then blinked. He was pretty certain he'd just done what they weren't, strictly speaking, supposed to do. But whatever. Another thing that wasn't going to matter, because the damned lake was still a <em>lake</em>.</p>
<p>The princess seemed deep in thought as he scolded himself, and at one point tilted her head as if listening to an unheard voice. Which was absurd, except that Hunk had said she'd been informed about him and the Yellow Lion, which meant…</p>
<p>She nodded slowly. "You don't know that there are tunnels, then?"</p>
<p>…<em>There are what?!</em> He clambered out of the water and stared at the princess in disbelief, then turned to glare at the lake. "What <em>tunnels?"</em></p>
<p>An enigmatic smile crept across her lips. "They are in the castle…"</p>
<p>…Oh, no. "And that's all you can tell me, isn't it?"</p>
<p>She nodded. "I'm afraid so."</p>
<p>Well. He exhaled slowly and shook his head. "Of course. Why not?" It was just a castle. There was a finite amount of area to search. Large, but finite. Really very large…</p>
<p><em>"Perhaps you should get started,"</em> the Lion of Water suggested with amusement.</p>
<p>…Perhaps he should.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Pidge had gone through the closets on the <em>Falcon</em> again. He'd done that along with everyone else when the <em>Xaela</em> was first captured, but nothing had fit—no surprise. Of course in theory he could just wear something much too large for him. But that restricted his movement, fumbling around in a mass of extra fabric, and with potential danger lurking everywhere he'd rather have dealt with the sunburn. Now that they had a better grasp of Arus and what dangers they did or didn't face, he could pull on a bulky alien hoodie over his chameleon suit and merely be edgy and uncomfortable.</p>
<p>He was sitting on the <em>Falcon's</em> tail assembly, staring at the distant forest in frustration. Keith had said to continue on the current path, but what path was he even on? It felt like he'd missed a lot. And all the talk of 'bonding' had not helped him at all.</p>
<p>
  <em>What are you afraid of?</em>
</p>
<p>Failure, but… he was starting to have at least an inkling of what else he was meant to consider.</p>
<p>
  <em>Failure is betrayal…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Cub."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Shut up! You wanted me to consider, now let me consider.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"I was merely going to ask you about 'situational awareness'. You have spoken of it before, have you not?"</em>
</p>
<p>He blinked. "What the hells is that supposed to—" As the reflexive question escaped, his eyes just as reflexively darted around, and fell on Lance. The pilot was standing on the ground and staring at him. "…Oh."</p>
<p>Lance had been having another unproductive conversation with his own lion—in that same room with no wall, staring out at the smoke from the distant volcano and wondering how the hell he was supposed to get inside. It had not been helpful, and he'd had enough of brooding, so he'd headed back to the ship. And there had been the ninja.</p>
<p>
  <em>What is he doing up there?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He's him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You could ask?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You should apologize.</em>
</p>
<p>That conversation with himself was not accomplishing anything either. Sighing, he accepted the inevitable. "Hey, nin… Pidge."</p>
<p>"…Hi?" Pidge wasn't sure about the look on Lance's face.</p>
<p>"Yeah, hi…" Waving, Lance grumbled to himself again in frustration. <em>Fuck's sake, McClain, you are supposed to be charming!</em></p>
<p><em>Humans</em>. "If there's something you need, you can just say so."</p>
<p>"Yeah, about that." <em>Flynn's laughing at you right now. </em>"Um, could you come down here?"</p>
<p>With a shrug, the ninja stood and vaulted off the horizontal stabilizer, complete with a midair flip that had only been partly aerodynamically justified. He landed unsteadily and cursed under his breath about the oversized hoodie. "Okay."</p>
<p><em>Handy talent, if a bit showy.</em> Lance smiled uneasily and tried to figure out words; dealing with Daniel was so much easier. "I owe you an apology, so basically, this is an apology? I'm sorry."</p>
<p>For a few moments they stared at each other in silence. Finally Pidge found an answer. "…For what?"</p>
<p>…<em>Well doesn't that figure</em>. Blinking, he searched for an answer himself—he didn't particularly want to have to go over it again, but here they were, so… "I got angry, it happens, you've probably noticed it a time or two, and I took it out on you and you bolted." He nodded weakly. "For that."</p>
<p>"Oh. Okay. Uh, it's fine." Pidge was ready to leave it at that, but paused, his mind wandering back to the advice he'd given Romelle. Feeling Green Lion's approval <em>almost</em> changed his mind, but… "I didn't bolt because of you." There had been a <em>hell</em> of a lot more to it than that.</p>
<p>"Yeah?" Lance smiled weakly; he wasn't sure he totally believed it, but he'd take it. "I wasn't really angry at you, either. Fucking weird how that happens, huh…" He trailed off. He knew what else he needed to say, but he desperately didn't want to. <em>Can I handle that conversation?</em></p>
<p>He wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter, because as they stared at each other in silence, even Pidge was pretty sure he saw where this was going. "…It's not <em>your</em> fault he's dead."</p>
<p>Oh, shit. <em>Nope, definitely can't, but you're in it now.</em> He felt the lion at the edges of his mind and narrowed his eyes. "Fucking Drules' fault he's dead."</p>
<p>"…Yeah. Their fault." Pidge didn't really want to have this conversation either; it had just felt like he ought to make some attempt at reassurance. He looked to the sky and exhaled. It <em>had</em> been the Drules. The team owed them some payback, and they would have that opportunity sooner rather than later, except…</p>
<p>"So what are you thinking about this lion thing?" Lance asked. It was probably <em>way</em> too obvious an attempt to change the subject, but then, this was Pidge. "I'm pretty jealous, you've <em>seen</em> yours. What are they like?"</p>
<p>The ninja blinked. "I… wasn't really in a mindset to appreciate her." Thinking back, he could remember she was beautiful… but she'd been <em>lecturing</em> him!</p>
<p><em>"That is kind of you, cub… and that was barely a lecture." </em>She sounded amused.</p>
<p>"Still, pretty amazing, right?" Lance had no idea what he expected a fiery robot lion to look like, if he were being perfectly honest. But it had to be badass, didn't it? Maybe someday he'd <em>find out</em>. "Don't suppose you have any advice on how one might get inside a volcano?"</p>
<p>He felt his lion chuckle.</p>
<p>The thought of offering to toss him into the volcano passed briefly through Pidge's mind. <em>No, Flynn would </em>definitely <em>not approve. </em>"Very carefully?"</p>
<p>Lance couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, that's all I got too."</p>
<p>For a few more moments, they just stood there, silent and awkward. Both of them knew there was too much more to say, that neither of them were ready for <em>that</em> discussion. And the mention of the lions had Pidge back to where he'd started.</p>
<p>"…Are you from Earth?"</p>
<p>Lance startled. <em>Huh?</em> That had not been an idle question, clearly… and maybe, with what they were learning about the lions, it did make sense. "Uh, not really. I'm from Beau Terre…" <em>Why does it always hurt to say that?</em> "It was a colony of Earth. Until the Galra left it looking a hell of a lot like Arus does now."</p>
<p>…<em>That actually makes a lot of things make more sense</em>. Pidge studied him carefully. He still didn't think Lance would understand what was bothering him. Not like… <em>no. Stop it. He might not get it, but he doesn't need to</em>. It mattered that they were trying, didn't it?</p>
<p>"Sorry."</p>
<p>The pilot raised an eyebrow. "For what?"</p>
<p>"Everything?"</p>
<p><em>Daniel is so much easier.</em> "That's a hell of a lot, maybe narrow it down?"</p>
<p><em>Oh, he wants to be particular</em>. "Drules and Galra." Frown. "…That wasn't an apology, that was an expression of sympathy."</p>
<p>That didn't sound quite like Pidge, but Lance knew who it did sound like. And he smiled faintly, despite himself. "Look, Pidge. If you need something, ask, okay?"</p>
<p>Blink. "Sure?" He probably <em>was</em> going to need <em>something</em>, if this lion really wanted him. He barely knew how to pilot. But it seemed too early to bring that up.</p>
<p>"Fucking sure."</p>
<p>"Yessir." He took a deep breath, bracing himself. "If I really am stuck with one of these lions, I… I won't fail." <em>Him.</em> <em>Or my Pride…?</em> "Any of you."</p>
<p><em>Huh?</em> Lance stared at him blankly. <em>I do </em>not <em>know about your Grumpy Ninja, Flynn.</em> "Alright?" Then the first part hit. "…And would you fucking please stop calling me <em>sir</em>, do I look like Keith?"</p>
<p>The ninja gave him an odd smile. "That never entirely worked for him either, you know."</p>
<p>So he'd heard. "I'll keep reminding you."</p>
<p>Shrug. "Are we finished, sir?"</p>
<p><em>What a brat</em>. Though he had to admit it was kind of endearing. "Yeah. We're good. Air cleared and all, right?"</p>
<p>…Had there been a problem with the air? He started to ask, then Green Lion's amusement stopped him. <em>Oh. Right.</em> "Yeah."</p>
<p>"Good." The pilot eyed him. "And remember, when or if you know what you want from me, just ask."</p>
<p>"I will, Lance." Without another word, he vaulted back up onto the <em>Falcon's</em> tail… and cursed profusely as the baggy hoodie got caught on a bolt.</p>
<p>Lance stared after him for a moment, hearing his lion roaring with laughter in his mind, and finally just slowly shook his head.</p>
<p><em>Daniel is </em>so <em>much easier!</em></p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith had followed Daniel out after he ran off, but that was easier said than done. He wasn't sure where the young cadet might have gone, honestly, but he had to at least try… he paused a moment and exhaled, frustrated. This wasn't something he <em>needed</em> right now… no, that wasn't important…</p>
<p><em>"Is it not?"</em> The now-familiar growl rumbled through his head and down his spine, and he blinked.</p>
<p>"I'm the commander," he said quietly. "I have to focus on my team first." The lion seemed to accept that, though he wasn't sure he'd have called the answering growl agreement. Perhaps understanding.</p>
<p>He eventually found Daniel sitting under a tree in what looked like it might once have been an orchard, or perhaps a garden. The strange lizards he'd brought back from the volcano were milling around him. "Daniel, are you alright?"</p>
<p><em>Oh fuck, why?</em> Daniel groaned and rolled his eyes, careful not to dislodge the salamander on his head—he'd named the one that liked it up there Toast. He liked toast. He didn't like overbearing commanders intruding on his sulking. He carefully patted Crouton, the salamander in his arms, while Lizzie and Kermi napped on either side of him, and scowled.</p>
<p>"I'm fan-tabulous."</p>
<p>"The way you ran off kind of says the opposite."</p>
<p>"I…" He grimaced; he was <em>really</em> not a fan of being called on his bullshit by people who weren't Lance.</p>
<p>Keith dropped down onto a nearby rock, leaning towards him, watching him. He felt another soft growl in his mind… not that he needed the encouragement, but he appreciated it nonetheless. He thought. "Talk to me, Daniel."</p>
<p>"I don't…" Daniel took a deep breath. "I really don't want to do that thing we do, where you sit there all stern and… m-wordy and we have an awkward talk about feelings. I hate talking about feelings."</p>
<p><em>Huh?</em> That was unusually blunt, even for Daniel. Keith looked down at the ground briefly before looking back at him. "Being all m-wordy, as you put it, is what I do. It's part of the job description." The team's well-being was <em>his</em> responsibility. He already didn't feel he'd been doing a great job of it on Arus, what with how damn deep they all were in over their heads.</p>
<p>"This isn't something you can fix." Honestly, Daniel barely understood what his head was saying himself, and there was no way he wanted to tell <em>Keith</em> that he was afraid of being left behind.</p>
<p>"Maybe. Maybe not. But can't try to fix what I don't know." A soft, concerned growl rippled through his mind again. This time he definitely appreciated the encouragement.</p>
<p>The sense that he was being watched and judged, perhaps less so…</p>
<p>Daniel narrowed his eyes. This was bullshit. "Yeah, well, if I'm going to be forced to talk about feelings and have those weird chick flick moments you seem so fond of, I'd rather do it with someone who genuinely gives a fuck rather than someone just doing their <em>job."</em></p>
<p>Wincing, Keith hissed in frustration. <em>Nice one, Kogane. That's </em>exactly <em>how you wanted that to come across.</em> "I do care, Daniel. You're a part of this team. When the four of you joined…" Flinch. <em>No, don't go there, don't think about the </em>four <em>of them.</em> "…you may have joined later than the rest of us, but it doesn't make you any less valuable."</p>
<p>"But I'm not going to be much longer!" He snapped it before he could stop himself. He didn't want to talk about this, he could handle his <em>feelings</em> on his own, but his ability to keep his mouth shut was questionable even when he <em>wasn't</em> pissed. He had protocols, a specific plan for this kind of situation. Bury his feelings and bolt.</p>
<p>Not that the plan had worked out well the last time he tried it. Daniel's mind flashed back to Alcieux, the moment in the snow—forever ago, it felt like. The plan had failed spectacularly that time, but that was because Lance was… <em>Lance.</em></p>
<p>And where was that getting him now?</p>
<p>Keith was just staring at him, trying to put things together. "What? How can you say that—why would you think that?" <em>Was it me? Where did I go wrong?</em> No, he shook that off. The gunner had always been volatile, and this was a volatile situation. Blaming himself wasn't the answer. Figuring out how to fix it was.</p>
<p><em>This isn't something you can fix</em>.</p>
<p>Hell if he wouldn't give it all he could.</p>
<p>Daniel was still scowling. Why did he have to explain everything? "I'm literally the only normal one left. There's no magical robot lion yapping away in my head, I don't see ghosts, I don't heal people, I don't spark! I'm just… here! I'm not fitting in, okay? And I know how this works. If you don't fit, you get left behind."</p>
<p>…<em>Oh</em>. Keith bowed his head and sighed; he remembered hearing something like this before. <em>Authority fucks you over, man.</em> "Daniel…" But what was he supposed to do? How did he prove a negative? <em>How do I deal with this?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"As a leader."</em>
</p>
<p>He blinked. Had that been his own thought, or…?</p>
<p><em>"You know how to lead."</em> That time it was definitely the lion.</p>
<p>Keith paused. <em>You know how to lead.</em> He did, yes… but everything had felt so damned out of control since they got here. Since they'd left Korrinoth—no, since they'd been taken there in the first place. He'd been doing his best in an uncertain situation…</p>
<p>Hadn't he?</p>
<p>A much older realization flooded over him as he looked at Daniel, the hostility and fear in his eyes. <em>We're all we have.</em> It was as true as it had ever been, with everything going insane around them. And as much as he tried to command, it took more than just commanding to <em>lead</em>.</p>
<p>"Daniel, we <em>won't</em> leave you behind," Keith assured him, looking the young cadet in the eye. "We can't. We do need you. Granted, you're very… proactive and you do things without permission, but…" Sigh. "Even I have to admit, you've gone out and found some valuable information for us, even if I don't always approve of your methods."</p>
<p>It wasn't reassuring. "You might not do it on purpose but you all will. Even Lance. It's just what happens…" Every single time, and he was stupid for forgetting that. "I don't want to talk about this! I don't even like you!" He winced as Kermi burped some embers, the yelling upsetting her. Fortunately they just smoldered out in the dirt.</p>
<p>Keith grimaced. <em>That</em> had been unusually blunt, too. <em>Do I push?</em> There was more there, and he knew it, but he very much doubted trying to get the kid to relive whatever had caused his skepticism would help. "Lance really likes you a lot, Daniel. I don't see him doing that to you." It was all but unthinkable, really. "As for me, you don't have to like me. I won't hold that against you. But we do need you. If you're the only, as you put it, normal one… we will need that balance. None of us asked to have magical robot lions talking in our heads." He heard the Lion of Storms snort softly in his mind at that, but it couldn't really argue the point. "Nor any of those other things. They just happened."</p>
<p>Groan. "That doesn't… he won't…" <em>Ugh! What part about 'you all might not do it on purpose' did he not understand?</em> "That just sounds like some witchy woo-woo bullshit." He shook his head. "Look, I don't want your <em>mentoring</em>. I'm not Cam." Cam was the one who believed in all that balance and karma shit. Not him.</p>
<p>Keith looked away, a pang of regret racing through him. Regret, and loss, and feeling like he was failing in his duty… feeling like he'd failed it long ago. He'd lost his <em>people</em>. "No, you're not Cam. But the two of you had such a good connection, even as much as you were at odds. And now… you're here and… he's not. And that has to mean something, Daniel. I don't know what, but it does."</p>
<p><em>"Such pain and regret." </em>The lion's whisper reverberated through him, and he nodded a silent agreement.</p>
<p>The gunner snorted. "Yeah. It means he left." <em>And he managed to do it in the most stupid way possible.</em> He'd been Daniel’s only true peer. And he'd <em>left</em> him. With his stupid fucking <em>I owe you</em> bullshit. Keith needed to leave this topic the hell alone.</p>
<p>Lowering his eyes, Keith took a moment to consider his options. He hadn't been allowing himself to go there. He <em>couldn't</em>. But if opening himself up would help… "I miss him, too. And the others. Jace and Flynn…"</p>
<p>Opening himself up did not help. "You're gonna need to fuck right off. He was a dumbass. He was also my friend, but he was mostly a dumbass." <em>Probably why he was friends with you in the first place.</em> As for Jace and Flynn… he hugged Crouton a little tighter, images of Jace dying on top of him flashing to the forefront of his mind. No, that memory could fuck right off too.</p>
<p>Reflexively, Keith's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not going to <em>fuck off</em>." <em>No. He's baiting you, don't get angry.</em> He watched Daniel in silence for a few moments, and it wasn't exactly anger that was boiling up. More a feeling of… indignation, but not on his own behalf. "Why do you call him a dumbass?"</p>
<p>He had his suspicions. Cam had died, yes… valiantly. Honorably. He deserved to be respected for that, not called a <em>dumbass</em>. By his friend!</p>
<p>A knowing growl followed, and he calmed. <em>Listen to him.</em> It was so alien to him, so wrong. <em>Try to understand</em>.</p>
<p>But Daniel wasn't interested in making himself understood. "Just… please, leave me alone." He was trying so hard not to just shoot this man, but if he kept poking at this particular wound he made no promises.</p>
<p>Sigh. This was only serving to upset them both, and knowing when to cut his losses was also part of leadership. "Okay, fine. I'll leave." Keith stood and looked down at him. "But we <em>won't</em> leave you behind. You're important to this team, whether you believe that or not. And even if you don't like me… if you need to talk and Lance can't, I will." He started to walk off.</p>
<p>Watching Keith walk away, Daniel suddenly felt a little bad. The guy had only been trying to help. He was really <em>bad</em> at it, sure, but maybe he should at least throw him a little bone. And the fact that he was even thinking like that felt weird, but…</p>
<p>"Look, Keith. I don't <em>like</em> you very much, but I do respect you. Okay? Even if you seem addicted to these mushy feely talks." <em>You'd think that sword up his ass would prevent tendencies like that.</em></p>
<p>Keith froze and slowly turned back to Daniel, a look of shock on his face. The kid looked like admitting that had been physically painful. "Thank you for your honesty. And, well," he paused and scratched the back of his head, "I hope it doesn't diminish your respect for me, but I am only human. I do have feelings, too." He gave him a small grin, and then headed back to the ship.</p>
<p>Daniel felt instant regret, but just shook his head and cuddled his lizards. Then a completely different regret hit. <em>Oh, fuck! What if he tells Lance?</em></p>
<p>Kermi let out a few more sparks.</p>
<p>Pausing on the boarding ramp, Keith looked back at where he'd left the cadet. Why had he said that last part? It didn't feel right… no, he knew why he'd said it. Trying to reciprocate the admission somehow. Except his own damn feelings didn't matter…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do they not?"</em>
</p>
<p>He hesitated, looking back up at the mountains in the distance. "What are you trying to tell me?"</p>
<p>The lion just purred softly in his mind.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Coran had not intended to go on patrol, strictly speaking. He'd intended to talk to Captain Sarial, to get her impressions of the one called Hunk. She'd only really mentioned him being an expert in explosives; helpful so far as it went, but not nearly enough. His character, his mannerisms, the feeling she'd gotten from him—they needed everything they could get.</p>
<p>And <em>she'd</em> been on patrol, so here he was.</p>
<p>"He seems harmless," she was saying, a small frown on her face. "Large and exuberant, but not a threat."</p>
<p>"Hmm." On one hand, not a threat was good. On the other, <em>entirely</em> harmless was probably not what they wanted from the chosen of one of the Great Lions. "He's important." <em>If only I could tell you why.</em> "We need to learn more about him. Would you really call someone who knows his way around explosives harmless?"</p>
<p>Sarial considered that for a few moments; she, too, would really like for Lord Coran to tell her more. But she knew it wasn't an option at this moment. "If he <em>wanted</em> to be dangerous, he certainly would be. But isn't that true of most?"</p>
<p>"Indeed, that's…" As they passed around the corner of the castle, motion up ahead drew their attention, and Coran's words died on his lips.</p>
<p>"Are those…?"</p>
<p>"I believe they are." Two of the visitors appeared to have set up shop on a broken stretch of what had once been the castle's outdoor tiling. And they appeared to have a very large pile of debris with them. "What are they doing?"</p>
<p>"…No idea."</p>
<p>"Well." Not what he'd anticipated today, but he was starting to get used to that. "I suppose we ought to go find out."</p>
<p>As it happened, upon reaching the castle with their materials, Hunk had remembered the minor detail of <em>tools</em>. So he'd gone back to the <em>Falcon</em>, leaving Vince and Romelle to sort the collected scrap into piles: "Little metal, big metal, metal that super needs blowtorched to clean it off, and other stuff!"</p>
<p>So far, "metal that super needs blowtorched" was most of it. Romelle was trying to watch what Vince was doing to judge, but when in doubt, it went to the cleaning pile. Mostly…</p>
<p>"That one should go to the middle pile," Vince suggested as she looked over a largely untarnished plate. "Uh, I think… sorry, if you have questions feel free to ask?" He probably should've led with that.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Vince." She set the plate down and moved on. "I'm definitely… unsure of all of this."</p>
<p>"Yeah, it's a bit out there. But that's what Hunk does best, I think."</p>
<p>That did seem to be true. "He certainly is different. And he seems… distraught? over the lion."</p>
<p>"I'd be freaked out if my eyes were glowing, too." Vince snorted as he said it. <em>You're always freaked out these days.</em> As if on cue, he heard footsteps that were not from the <em>Falcon's</em> direction, and looked up to see the two Arusians approaching. Blinking, he looked down at their pile of scrap and belatedly wondered if they ought to have asked permission.</p>
<p>Approaching had not made the project they were stumbling across any clearer. "Hello," Coran took a moment to remember their names, "Vince. Romelle."</p>
<p>"Hello, Captain Sarial and," <em>does he have a title? Oh no,</em> "Mr. Coran?" Vince gave his best grin as his ears flushed.</p>
<p>"Coran." Romelle gave a short nod. "Captain."</p>
<p>Sarial eyed the woman skeptically for a moment, unnerved. She knew what a Polluxian was… but if Coran wasn't going to make an issue of it, she certainly wouldn't. The old knight was offering them a wary smile as he looked at the metal. "May I ask what's happening here?"</p>
<p>"Oh, uh." May he ask? It was <em>his</em> planet. "Hunk wanted to build a grill, to do some cooking, so we sorted out some scrap."</p>
<p>"A grill?" Coran repeated. He'd have asked if it were a weapon, but that wouldn't be for cooking. <em>Do they mean an oven?</em></p>
<p>Romelle gave a small shrug. "I'm as confused as you are, but he seems confident." Vince looked between them and shook his head slightly; something had to be getting lost in translation here, grills could <em>not</em> just be an Earthling thing.</p>
<p>"You can work with… this?" Sarial asked, eyeing the pile. The militia had picked over everything in useful condition for miles. None of this was what they'd have called useful.</p>
<p>"Well, I don't think I could on my own? But Hunk says he can, and I believe him."</p>
<p><em>Hmm</em>. Coran mentally appended that to the list, along with 'aura of harmlessness, explosives expert, and robot lion tamer'. "And whereabouts is—"</p>
<p>"Uhhh, heya, Your Advisorness! Cap'n!" Hunk arrived with an armful of tools just in time, and did his best not to reflexively panic. <em>Yellow, I swear to… I dunno, </em>you… <em>if you let my eyes do that glowy thing right now…</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"I told you it is not my doing."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Well find a way to make not-doing it your doing!</em>
</p>
<p>The lion gave a mildly bewildered growl.</p>
<p>Captain Sarial smiled, entirely unaware of his mental tug of war with a mechanical cat. "Hello again."</p>
<p>"Hello, Mr. Hunk." Coran nodded in greeting, then eyed the piles of metal. "I hear you can turn this into a… grill?"</p>
<p>Oh, more of that, huh? Excellent. Time to spread some cultural appreciation! "Heck yeah we can, and it'll be awesome." Looking down at the piles himself, he paused and gave a low whistle. "…Uh, we're gonna hafta do a lot of torchin' for this to be usable." Grin. "You two wanna help?"</p>
<p>Sarial blinked, Vince snorted, Romelle bit her lip… and Coran didn't even hesitate for an instant. "Certainly." It was a perfect opportunity, and he was a hospitable host. "We are at your disposal. Just tell us what to do."</p>
<p><em>Oh, he is not prepared</em>. Vince hid his own snicker.</p>
<p>With a huge grin, Hunk set out the tools he'd brought—good thing they had two of everything! "Okay, so this is the pyro solvent! It's usually for keepin' the engines clean." He set two spray bottles down. "You give the metal a squirt, then heat it up to detach all the gunk," he set a blowtorch next to each bottle, "then someone's gotta give it a good scrubbing," a couple of rough tarp-like things, "to do the actual removal. Meanwhile," he waved something paper-adjacent, "I'll start on the blueprint." <em>And hopefully be staring at paper so the Arusians don't see this glowy-eyed stuff, because OH no</em>. He looked at the blank expressions surrounding him and gave a thumbs-up. "So, who wants to do the fire?"</p>
<p>"I have a decent acquaintance with fire," Sarial offered. They'd had plenty of use for blowtorches while scavenging; the alien ones Hunk had produced didn't seem <em>that</em> different. Also, she could not help but want to see Lord Coran on 'gunk-removal' duty.</p>
<p>Coran was actually on the same page. "I volunteer to scrub." It was not at all outside his expertise.</p>
<p>Exchanging looks with Vince, Romelle shrugged and picked up a blowtorch. "First time for everything."</p>
<p>"Scrubber it is." Vince was relieved. He did not trust himself not to spark under these circumstances. With <em>fire</em>. It wouldn't be good.</p>
<p>"Perfect! Let's rock this." Hunk fled to the blueprint without looking like he was fleeing, and not a moment too soon as the world went yellow. <em>Hoo boy</em>. Glancing back over his shoulder to see what they had to work with, he wondered why the hell he'd invited the Arusians to join the party.</p>
<p>Yellow seemed to find all this funny. Of course he did.</p>
<p>They worked in silence for a few minutes. Vince soon found the scrubbing oddly relaxing; was this what he'd needed all along on his meditation quest? It didn't seem practical. Next to him, Coran couldn't help a slight chuckle. It reminded him of his days as an apprentice, scrubbing floors, weapons, and boots. Legend had it his boots had been the shiniest any knight had ever worn.</p>
<p>Romelle was quickly getting up to speed with the blowtorch—the open flame had been startling at first, to be sure. But pretending the metal was Lotor's face helped. Sarial was efficiently heating her own metal and keeping a wary eye on the very <em>enthusiastic</em> Polluxian. She seemed much scarier than Hunk, truthfully.</p>
<p>"So how does this 'grill' work?" Coran asked after a bit. It seemed like a good place to start.</p>
<p>"You put the food on a grate over a fire," Vince explained. "Though it can get more complex." He tried to sneak a peek at Hunk's blueprint, but Hunk himself was very much in the way.</p>
<p>He arched an eyebrow. "Like when camping?"</p>
<p>"Campfire grillin' is totally a thing!" Hunk confirmed.</p>
<p>Interesting. <em>Not an oven, then</em>. It fit the current state of Arus, he supposed… certainly too primitive to be something they would ever have been excited about before. Perhaps it held a more important place in Earthling culture? In any case, he kind of enjoyed the word. "So how do you know how to build one of these 'grills'? And why?"</p>
<p>Talking with his back to the group felt weird, Hunk decided, but it was safer. "I could give ya the whole shpiel from culinary science class, but nobody needs that, yeah? Grilling is tasty and it's healthier than uh, a lot of what Earthlings come up with, and you can make grills that shoot fire and stuff and it's totally <em>awesome."</em> As he spoke he added a small flame vent to the design. Just on principle.</p>
<p>Remembering what Coran was trying to do here, Sarial eyed the big man curiously. "Culinary science? Aren't you the 'bomb guy'?"</p>
<p>Now Hunk was glad he wasn't facing them just because of how bright red he blushed. "It's all chemistry, sister!"</p>
<p>The two Arusians exchanged shrugs; it did make sense. Coran started scrubbing a new piece of metal. <em>He's smart.</em> That much was clear, his affect aside. Certainly no sign he might be a danger to Arus. Though the only real proof he <em>wasn't</em> was the word of a magical sentient lion, and he still only had so much reason to trust that.</p>
<p>Romelle paused a moment, wiping some sweat from her forehead. Fire, it turned out, was <em>hot</em>. She noticed Sarial looking at her and decided to take a stab at being friendly herself. "So, what did you do before… all this happened?"</p>
<p>"I was the librarian in the castle village." She knew nothing about Pollux except that it existed, so she couldn't ask anything particularly intelligent in response, but open-ended might serve them as well anyway. "What is Pollux like? What did you do there?"</p>
<p>…<em>I had to ask </em>that <em>to be friendly</em>. Wincing, she looked away briefly. "Pollux is a beautiful world. Much more water than Arus." It sent a pang through her; she knew how unlikely she was to ever see that beauty again. She didn't want to talk about it. Though the only thing to change over to wasn't much better. "I had, um… a sheltered but educated life."</p>
<p>Even when it <em>wasn't</em> coming from a recalcitrant teenager—or was it? She couldn't actually tell how old Romelle was—Sarial knew 'not going to get any more answers' when she heard it, and opted not to push. Coran knew more, and nodded in satisfaction; that dodge confirmed that she was indeed their princess, in his mind.</p>
<p>Vince was abruptly struck by the fact that a <em>princess</em> was sitting there blowtorching metal. He exchanged shrugs with Hunk, whose eyebrows had gone up in a very Sven-like fashion; if she didn't want to say anything else, it was her call.</p>
<p>"What about Arus?" she asked, desperate to end the awkward pause as quickly as possible. "Is… was it… as pretty as it seems to have been, before the Drules attack?"</p>
<p>Nodding, Sarial decided to let Coran handle any further answer. The old knight nodded sadly. "It was… and it will be again." He shot a brief but pointed look at Hunk, who was glancing back at their collection of metal, before returning his attention to Romelle.</p>
<p>
  <em>Okay, why did it just feel like Mustache Dude was looking right at me?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Indeed, why would you think such a thing, Earthwarder?"</em>
</p>
<p>Oh. Oh no. Hell no. <em>What do they know, exactly?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Less and more than you suspect. I cannot say with confidence."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>You are the </em>least helpful <em>mythical robot lion I've ever met.</em></p>
<p>Coran had continued while Hunk was arguing in his head. "There was a bridge not too far from here that I found particularly beautiful. Perfect place to relax and unwind. It's still standing, but not quite as sturdy… it's hard to relax while you're worried about falling through it." He gave a little chuckle and returned his focus to scrubbing.</p>
<p>Despite herself, Romelle found his serene attitude a bit… comforting? "Hopefully you can rebuild it soon."</p>
<p>Vince wanted to say something there too, but he couldn't quite find words for it. Instead he looked at the piece of metal Coran was working on, then back at his own. "How are you getting it so… shiny?"</p>
<p>Now he laughed outright. "Practice. I did a lot of scrubbing during my apprentice days."</p>
<p>"Apprentice?"</p>
<p>"Of the Golden Knights. Most trainees didn't scrub as much as I did, though. My instructors thought I was much too… clever." Even Romelle giggled at that.</p>
<p>Hunk was close to done with the blueprint, with no major emergencies, so of course he'd let his guard down. Just a little. Just enough to chuckle, <em>"Never</em> let the brass think you're too clever, bro."</p>
<p>…<em>Oh crap</em>.</p>
<p>And there it was. <em>So he </em>is <em>a soldier as well</em>. Coran had almost concluded he couldn't be… he side-eyed Vince, just in time to see him fumble and drop the metal he was working on. <em>Are they all?</em> Any assumptions he might have made about military discipline or decorum had to be abandoned.</p>
<p>Dwelling too long, too obviously, would not help. "What is a 'bro'?" he asked easily, as though nothing important had been said at all.</p>
<p>That was not what Hunk had been expecting to be called on. "Uhhh, it just means…" Nor was it something he'd ever needed to <em>explain</em> before. It didn't help that Vince, Romelle, and even Sarial were looking at him with obvious interest. No backup, then. "Uh, it's short for brother but usually just means 'any dude' when you don't do formality, which I totally don't."</p>
<p>His eyes chose that exact moment to glow.</p>
<p>
  <em>YELLOW!</em>
</p>
<p>Sarial flicked her blowtorch off, blinking, trying to figure out if she'd really just seen what she thought she'd seen. It was gone, if she had… she looked to Coran instead, and caught a look of excitement crossing his face before he swiftly schooled his features. <em>Was that it? Was that what we were looking for?</em> She didn't think Earthling eyes were supposed to <em>do</em> that.</p>
<p>"Hmm. Interesting." Coran had gotten himself back to his usual calm in a matter of seconds. "I would ask what a 'dude' is, but I'll just attempt to discern the meaning from context."</p>
<p>"It's a colloquial term for 'person', I believe." Sarial had a <em>lot</em> of question she wanted to ask, and knew too well that she couldn't. "Sometimes specifically a male person?"</p>
<p>Hunk breathed a slow sigh of relief. Had they not noticed it? The blowtorches had been on. "Sometimes, but I call everyone dude, dude."</p>
<p>"I can verify that," Vince chimed in, looking between them. If nobody was going to comment on the weird, <em>he</em> certainly wouldn't…</p>
<p>"So, assembling this grill?" Romelle asked, finishing off the last of the metal and trying to come to Hunk's rescue. It was only fair.</p>
<p>"…Yeah! Looks like the metal's ready, and just in time!" He held up the blueprint. "Cuz I've got stuff to do with it!"</p>
<p>Vince's eyes widened at the blueprint. <em>He </em>is <em>good</em>. He'd known that, of course, but there was knowing that and then there was looking at a plan to make what looked like a dual-chambered grill and smoker out of scrap metal. <em>This is totally going to make even Arusian mushrooms better</em>.</p>
<p>As they got to work on the assembly, Coran approached Hunk and stood close, in the guise of getting a better look at the blueprint. Instead, he spoke quietly enough that the others couldn't hear. "Princess Allura trusts the Lions' judgment to a fault, and I trust her. Meaning we are putting our trust in <em>you</em>. I ask, for Arus' sake, that you not blow it."</p>
<p>Hunk froze, his eyes widening—he might actually have gone for them glowing right then. Of course, when it might've been <em>helpful</em> they didn't. "Dude, you're talkin' to the <em>bomb guy…</em>" The first, reflexive joke died on his lips. No. He'd signed on for this… "…Think I know what to blow and what not to, yeah?"</p>
<p>That was good enough for the moment, Coran decided. "Good to hear." He returned to normal volume and looked at the metal. "Now, what do you need me to do?"</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The tunnels had not turned out to be nearly as difficult as Sven had feared. Once he had the thoroughly counterintuitive fact that he could reach the <em>bottom of the lake</em> through the <em>castle</em>, he'd been able to feel his way there without much difficulty. It was the water, the sense of it, seeming to flow through the corridors once he actually knew to look…</p>
<p>
  <em>We are where we are felt.</em>
</p>
<p>Finally he found himself in an open cavern… five openings in the walls greeted him. Five! There <em>were</em> tunnels, they <em>all</em> had tunnels! And he could feel the water from one… he saw the shuttles in the center of the room. He had <em>questions</em>. But the shuttles were clearly not functional, and the questions would have to wait.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Sven stepped into the tunnel where he felt the lion's energy, and shook his head. A fucking tunnel. That led straight to his lion… he sighed. Again with the <em>his.</em></p>
<p>Maybe 'straight' to his lion had been an overstatement. The tunnel wound and curved gently, no doubt avoiding underground obstacles. That didn't bother him. He wasn't having to hold his breath, and that was the important part…</p>
<p>No, wait. The important part was that they'd been here the <em>entire time.</em> And Sven wasn't fool enough to believe that his lion hadn't known they were here.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I needed to confirm that you were compatible."</em>
</p>
<p>"You needed…" Sven sighed and decided to just let it go. He was distracted, anyway, as the tunnel suddenly changed. It straightened and became partially glassed in—or had it always been? What it had been passing through before was probably featureless dirt. But now what surrounded the tunnel was <em>water</em>.</p>
<p>He took a few moments to admire it; the lake was really beautiful down here, when he wasn't having to swim in it. Then he moved on, his mind racing again.</p>
<p>So close to finding this lion…</p>
<p>Finding her may not even matter if he couldn't make a choice. He needed more information. How was he supposed to make a decision without knowing the consequences? Well, he knew of at least one consequence. He would have to stay. Which would make both his parents and the Alliance very unhappy. And he wasn't entirely against that, he just needed to know if it was worth it.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I will tell you what I can."</em>
</p>
<p>Sven's reply was cut off by shock. The tunnel opened up into a large cave, but that wasn't what left his mind blank. It was the very large robotic cat that reminded him, both in size and position, of the Egyptian sphinx. Except blue. Very blue. She looked elegant yet dangerous, which fit her voice; stepping to one side, he could see two sleek silver wings anchored to her shoulders. One shoulder had something familiar etched in. The blue sigil from the temple…</p>
<p>He circled around to the front, where her paws were laying in the water that filled half the cavern. "Wow." Her golden eyes glowed, as if in greeting. "Wow." It needed to be repeated. "I— You're— <em>Wow</em>." That was the last time.</p>
<p>She chuckled. "<em>I am the Blue Lion, Lion of Water. I'm glad you find me so impressive."</em></p>
<p>"That's a bit of an understatement." He stared for another minute, excitement filling him as reality sank in. They'd found it. The team's wild goose chase wasn't a wild goose chase after all… he shook his head, he needed to focus, this was <em>work</em> and he had <em>questions</em>. Or more accurately, no answers. "But I don't know if I want to bond. I don't understand what you're offering, or if it will give me what I want. And I get the feeling that it's not something where I can just decide to walk away and be done with it if I have second thoughts later."</p>
<p>She growled, and it echoed through the den. <em>"You are correct."</em></p>
<p>"What does this bond entail?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"The semantics of the bond is not what worries you. Ask what you wish to ask."</em>
</p>
<p>"You…" She was right, the particulars didn't really matter. "I'd be giving up an entire life—" Sven groaned. This wasn't working.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is it the life you want?"</em>
</p>
<p>"No…" Even after joining the team, it still usually felt as if his life was out of his control. Explorer Team crazy was better than some alternatives, sure, but…</p>
<p>
  <em>"What do you want?"</em>
</p>
<p>"I want to make my own choices!" He threw his hands up in the air, and his voice echoed throughout the cave. "I want adventure and space, and I don't want my life manipulated into just being what someone else wants."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is that what you believe I'm doing? Manipulating you into giving me what I want?"</em>
</p>
<p>"I hope not, but I don't know." It would be so much easier if he could just <em>know</em>.</p>
<p>She gave an indignant huff, before wrapping his mind in reassurance. <em>"I am not all-knowing. I cannot, and will not, promise you an exact future. Nor can I manipulate the outcome of your decision. But I can promise you that it is </em>your <em>decision whether or not we bond. My bonded must choose that path of their own free will. What happens after that decision will be up to us and our Pride."</em></p>
<p>
  <em>My decision…</em>
</p>
<p>He looked down at the wet sand, then back up at the lion. How was he supposed to make a decision like this alone? It wasn't even about choosing between going home and staying with his team—not really—not without knowing what the others would choose. And how was he supposed to know that?</p>
<p><em>"Purify your thoughts, cub. What do </em>you <em>want? What do you feel?"</em></p>
<p>Purify…</p>
<p>Sven crouched, running his fingers through the knee-deep water he was standing in. It was icy cold, sharpening his focus. Take everything else away… the Drules, the Alliance, the Arusians needing their help. Flynn, Cam, and <em>Jace</em> dying. Earth and his parents waiting… all of it aside. Would he say no?</p>
<p>But even that wasn't the question. Freedom wasn't just throwing aside everything he cared about, everything that mattered to him. It couldn't be. What did it mean to purify his thoughts?</p>
<p>What did he want?</p>
<p><em>The freedom to make my own choices.</em> And that freedom was an illusion, if those choices wouldn't be respected…</p>
<p>His eyes widened. There. There it was. The real question.</p>
<p>"…Okay." He nodded to himself. He knew what awaited him on Earth. A life he hadn't hated, but not the life he'd wanted, either. With Blue, he knew next to nothing of what awaited him, but the choice had been his. The choices would still be his. Because his team, and <em>his lion,</em> respected him in a way his parents simply did not. The freedom for what he wanted to <em>matter…</em> wasn't that all he could really ask for? "Okay. How do we do this?"</p>
<p>Blue Lion's eyes glowed once again, and she shifted, rising up into a sitting position with a soft mechanical whirr. Sven's eyes widened further as the water sloshed around him, and the temperature definitely dropped. The lion pushed her paw towards him, and he got the idea… walking a few steps forward and taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the arch of one of her claws.</p>
<p>His vision went blue.</p>
<p>—<em>A cold ripped through him like his whole body was in water. He could feel the creatures swimming around in the lake above him, the swirling rivers and the rushing rapids flowing out of it. The blue lion in front of him anchoring them together like solid ice—</em></p>
<p>Blink. "Wow." He'd taken his hand off her paw, but he could still <em>feel</em> her. A calm presence in his mind, but different from before… more solid, constant.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are the Knight of the Waters, and my Paladin of Purity."</em>
</p>
<p>Wait, what?</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will be called Icehunter."</em>
</p>
<p>"I will?" How did someone hunt ice?</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Well, okay then.</em> Sven's mind was flooded with hundreds of things he didn't understand, but he couldn't seem to form them into actual questions. His brain was too overloaded with the fact that he'd just <em>bonded</em> with a giant sentient robot lion of water. Now he understood why Hunk had seemed so erratic about it—it was a <em>lot</em> to try to take in all at once. Maybe he needed a nap?</p>
<p>
  <em>"And now, my Icehunter, I have a task for you."</em>
</p>
<p>So that was a no on the nap. "Yes?"</p>
<p><em>"Something of mine must be retrieved, for me to be truly operational. A key."</em> Blue seemed irritated with that, but didn't expand on the irritation.</p>
<p>"A key?" Sven remembered the circular object Hunk had shown them. It hadn't looked much like a key, but that wasn't nearly the weirdest thing he'd seen since starting the mission. "Where is it?" Hopefully it would be easier to get to than <em>she</em> had been.</p>
<p>Blue just chuckled in response to his thought, and Sven sighed. "Of course."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <i>Welp, after planned AND unplanned delays, we are hopefully back on track, 2020 willing...</i>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Natural Resources</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The grill was complete and the assembly team had dispersed. Some to do things related to actually <em>using</em> said grill; others not so much. Romelle was part of that latter group. As they'd been finishing it up, she'd felt something strange… an icy chill that had rushed through her like a wave, and then in a split second it was gone.</p>
<p>Nobody else had seemed to notice anything. Perhaps a ghost passing through… in any case, it had put her a little on edge.</p>
<p>She'd gone back to the <em>Falcon</em> to try to calm her nerves, only to be almost immediately intercepted by a ninja who was officially <em>over</em> his attempt at scavenged clothing. There had to be a better option. So now they were searching for a doctor—there had to be one somewhere, Daniel hadn't had that cast appear out of thin air—that Romelle, at least, would be able to speak to.</p>
<p>Neither of them really knew where they were going, but it seemed like if they wandered the castle long enough they should run into an Arusian eventually.</p>
<p>Shouldn't they?</p>
<p>"Where's a local when you need one?" Romelle huffed quietly. Thinking about it, they'd only met four, hadn't they? Five, if one counted the woman Lance had mentioned. There were certainly more, but perhaps not in the bombed-out castle.</p>
<p>"Some of the others have visited the shelters, kir sa tye?" Pidge remembered Hunk and Sven saying something about that. "But I can't blame the Arusians for not telling us all how to get there at once."</p>
<p>"You do have a good point," she acknowledged.</p>
<p>Around a couple more corners, they finally found an Arusian: none other than Princess Allura herself. She was standing on a half-broken balcony, looking deep in thought.</p>
<p>Having met her exactly once before he'd run off to the forest, Pidge hesitated. He knew nothing about interacting with royalty—as Romelle could probably attest to—and it seemed wisest not to risk messing things up here. For her part, Romelle sighed and braced herself, but she supposed this was better than nothing.</p>
<p>"Princess."</p>
<p>She startled a little—just a slight twitch of her shoulders before she turned. "Oh… yes?" It was probably just as well she had a distraction; word of the Blue Lion's awakening had her mind racing with all the things she couldn't tell the other three. Though as she fully turned, she noted that Romelle was accompanied by the missing guest who had been in Green's forest.</p>
<p>Looking between them, Romelle considered protesting. She hadn't signed on for interpreting when they <em>spoke the same language.</em> But then, she also knew how Pidge was around strangers, and decided she didn't much want to deal with that. "We're… seeking help."</p>
<p>"What kind of help?" Hopefully not lion help. She'd be far too tempted to say yes.</p>
<p>It wasn't lion help. "Pidge here has… a rather bad burn."</p>
<p>The absurdity of this hit Pidge as she spoke. The planet was in ruins, they were talking to the actual princess, and the Arusians' adaptiveness meant they might not even have a concept of what he was looking for if he <em>were</em> talking to the right person… "It's a sunburn," he said sullenly. "Does that even exist on Arus?"</p>
<p>"It's rare, but it can be a problem for some…" Allura circled around him, trying to sense the injury, and found the cut in his suit easily enough. "Oh, my…"</p>
<p>"That bad?" He hadn't actually <em>seen</em> the burn, for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>"It is… very red," she confirmed, frowning. "Let me see what I can do." Bringing her hand close to him, she tried to get a sense of what could be done before actually touching the wound. Her eyes and markings glowed faintly. This had worked on Daniel, but… "There's something different about you, compared to the others." She had noticed that when the group first arrived, but not had an opportunity to ask.</p>
<p>"…A lot of things," he muttered, eyeing her skeptically over his shoulder.</p>
<p>"He's not an Earthling," Romelle offered.</p>
<p>Allura nodded at that. Was 'ninja' his race, perhaps? It could wait a little longer. "I believe I can do a small bit to help. But this needs better treatment. There is a plant that makes for a good salve for burns…" With one hand, she signaled to one of the mice, and heard it scurry away. The blue sparks in her eyes flickered as she touched the burn very lightly with her other hand, concentrating, hoping she would be able to disperse the pain again.</p>
<p>Pidge jumped as a wave of <em>something</em> ran along his back, and his sense of the burn faded to almost nothing. "…Komora sa kye?"</p>
<p>"Did it help?" Romelle asked, just beating Allura to asking the same thing.</p>
<p>"I… I think so." He could still feel heat, but he gave his shoulder an experimental twist and <em>didn't</em> feel pain rippling up his back. Definitely an improvement. "What did she just…?"</p>
<p>"Some mystical healing… thing." There <em>were</em> ancient rumors that the royal blood of Arus contained some magic… but this was twice Romelle had seen it, and even she was still coming to grips with how many old Polluxian stories were <em>true</em>.</p>
<p>Oddly, Pidge seemed to take that pretty well. "Seems logical." He hesitated, then turned back to Allura. "Um. Thanks."</p>
<p>"You're welcome." She smiled. "The khonoa plant isn't uncommon. That should hold you over until we can find some for you."</p>
<p>He nodded. It was a good start, though he should probably go ahead and ask the other question too. "Would this plant help with prevention?" <em>SHE IS A PRINCESS</em>. "I mean, if you know?"</p>
<p>Would it? Allura thought for a moment. "It may…" Her tone was skeptical. But fortunately, she'd already sent for an expert. "But Lady Larmina would know much better than I."</p>
<p>"…Who?"</p>
<p>"Ah, yes, you weren't at the dinner." That drew a small wince that she politely ignored. "My niece. She knows the forest far better than me. Indeed, probably better than anyone else here."</p>
<p>Pidge had opinions on <em>that</em>, and heard Green Lion's amused purr. "Okay."</p>
<p><em>Oh, dear</em>. Romelle thought back to the young royal, looked at the young ninja, and considered all the ways this could go terribly wrong. "She is rather… feisty, Pidge."</p>
<p>"Well," he muttered reflexively in Baltan, "we're an Explorer Team." Feisty was the <em>least</em> of his problems. Switching back to Common, he added quietly, "I don't have a lot of choice in this."</p>
<p>Romelle nodded her understanding. To both comments, really—she didn't understand Baltan, but she <em>completely</em> agreed with his sardonic tone. "I know. That burn looks like it must be very painful."</p>
<p>Allura had also given him a curious look. The other language he'd spoken a couple of times now wasn't something she'd ever heard before. He noticed the look and started to ignore it, then his own advice to Romelle ran through his mind. As did another encouraging purr…</p>
<p>"I'm Baltan," he explained, meeting her unspoken question with a small nod. "We aren't adapted to sunlight, so if we don't have proper precautions, that happens." He pointed to the burn and immediately regretted saying anything. <em>Why in the third hell would you tell a near stranger that?!</em></p>
<p>The lion in his head purred again. It didn't particularly improve his mood.</p>
<p>Perhaps mercifully, that was the moment Larmina arrived, on the heels of the mouse that had come to fetch her. She'd spent the last few hours reading a Common English dictionary while keeping an Arusian dictionary balanced on her head—the one with the heaviest bindings, obviously. Something about proper ladies needing proper posture.</p>
<p>Yeah, right. All it had given her was a headache.</p>
<p>"Thanks for the save, Auntie, Nanny got mad at me for telling her one of the Earthlings taught me a new word and—" She trailed off as she realized Allura was not alone. The not-quite-Arusian was there with someone she'd not seen before. <em>Another</em> offworlder?</p>
<p>Pidge was staring at the new arrival as blankly as she was staring at him. She couldn't be any older than he was, and while Allura was clearly royalty—if battered—this Larmina didn't give the slightest hint of it. So far as he could tell, anyway. What did he know?</p>
<p>Chuckling a little at the report—she could imagine what kind of word had been involved—Allura quickly got down to business. "Larmina, how easily do you think you can find some khonoa? And what can you tell us about plants that might be good for burn prevention salves?" She spoke in Arusian; Romelle leaned closer to Pidge and translated softly.</p>
<p>Larmina blinked, trying to shift her mind from long lists of Common nouns back to the plant identification guides she'd long ago memorized. "The khonoa is easy, it's just starting to regrow after the winter. I've scavenged the easiest spots, but it's a big forest and I'm the only one that goes in there. You could make a decent protective salve by mixing it with some zashok leaves, but if you want to avoid burns I'd suggest not standing in fire?"</p>
<p>Both Allura and Romelle had to fight down a small snort at that. Even Pidge, after hearing the translation, almost snickered.</p>
<p>"Perhaps you can show Pidge where to find the plants, and how to identify them?" Allura indicated the new stranger. "He may need it often."</p>
<p>It got her a look of annoyance. Larmina would have been very happy to go fetch some plants on her own; being out in the forest away from everything and everyone sounded wonderful. Playing guide for some offworlder, less so, and the thought of him wandering <em>her forest</em> alone even less. Besides, there was a reason she was the only one who went in. "The banewolves, Auntie…"</p>
<p>"Banewolves?" Pidge echoed as Romelle translated. "Is that what they're called?" It sounded appropriate.</p>
<p>Larmina's jaw snapped shut. <em>Is that what they're—what?!</em></p>
<p>"I think he may be able to handle himself," her aunt said with a knowing smile.</p>
<p>Romelle's eyes widened slightly. "The big wolves you said…"</p>
<p>"You've seen—<em>you've</em>—YOU'VE seen the—" Larmina was sputtering. It wasn't fair. The forest had been her sanctuary, even against other Arusians. She was not up for having it <em>invaded</em> by some… whatever this guy was. Hell no.</p>
<p>If Pidge had realized it was that big a deal, he might not have said anything. Were monster wolves weird even by Arusian standards?</p>
<p><em>"The Banes of the Forest have protected my den for centuries,"</em> Green Lion explained. <em>"Very few dare to invade their territory, and most of those fail to return."</em></p>
<p>Oh. Well then. <em>Except for her?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"There are exceptions, yes."</em>
</p>
<p>Wonderful.</p>
<p>Larmina was still glaring. "No," she finally spat. "No way." If she had to be nice to the aliens, fine. If she had to learn their language and give them a castle tour, whatever. She was <em>not</em> sharing her forest.</p>
<p>"It's a really bad burn, Larmina…"</p>
<p>"He needs it!"</p>
<p>Pidge had not understood any of that. But he, too, could read tones. He could even do so correctly on occasion, and this Lady Larmina wasn't subtle. "Whatever," he snorted. "I'll go look for the plants myself, then. I'm sure I can figure it out." Maybe the lion in his head could actually be useful for something.</p>
<p>She gave a small growl of protest at that, but didn't actually say no.</p>
<p>But his words threw Larmina into an immediate reversal. <em>I see what he's doing. And it's totally working</em>. If he had to go out there, he was going to do it with supervision.</p>
<p>"Fine," she snapped in Common. "He does what I say. We go <em>now</em>. Keep up." Turning on her heel, she motioned for him to follow and stormed for a side door.</p>
<p>Blinking, Pidge spent about half a second debating just going alone anyway. Then he thought better of it, and ran after her without a word.</p>
<p>Romelle sighed in relief, then looked over at Allura; they found themselves exchanging slightly awkward grins. "Thank you for your help, Princess." She fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable. An odd thought ran through her mind at that… her governess would have chastised her for the fidgeting. It was a long time since she'd thought about such concerns, but she <em>was</em> standing before another princess. But given the circumstances of being on Arus…</p>
<p><em>Those things no longer matter</em>.</p>
<p>"Not a problem. Is there anything I can do for you?"</p>
<p>Aching from the sudden pang, she reflexively brushed off the question. "Not really." But then she paused. <em>Let them reach out…</em> "…Can you give me any answers? Why exactly did you think that my ancestors had something you needed?"</p>
<p>Allura bowed her head. "The Great Lions have slept so long. So much was missing." Sigh. "I had a clue of sorts, that what was needed was something not on Arus. So I imagined perhaps it had been taken to Pollux." It had been a reasonable theory, at the time.</p>
<p>Why had she asked? Romelle shook her head. It felt like she was grasping for a connection, but didn't know where to begin. "We didn't take anything except what was ours. We disagreed with the decision to hide Voltron and wanted nothing to do with it."</p>
<p>"Perhaps that's so." <em>So much has been lost.</em> "But I suppose in a way, your ancestors did have something. Knowledge. Do you know anything else? About why it was decided it should be hidden?"</p>
<p>"No. Everything I know, I told you before."</p>
<p>An embarrassed flush crossed Allura's cheeks. "Oh, yes." Sigh. "With all we've forgotten and lost, I've been so used to going over things more than once. Looking for anything new, any hint we may have missed. And now that our fate seems to hinge on those with no connection to this world…" She flexed her fingers and looked at Romelle, noting she wasn't looking at her, but seemed to still be listening. For a moment, she went silent. The Polluxian did not want to hear her own hidden doubts. That she was certain of.</p>
<p>Or… did she?</p>
<p>What little progress she'd made before had come when she had spoken of her own losses. Romelle had been through a great deal. And she'd spoken so scornfully of Lions and fairy tales, as though it were foolish to believe.</p>
<p>Perhaps…</p>
<p>"It is very new for me," she said quietly. "I hope. I believe. Because I trust in the Great Lions. Because I <em>must</em> believe. But Arus is not used to counting on outsiders. Nor does it seem fair to you and your friends to expect it… I'm sure you, personally, would rather be far from here."</p>
<p>Yes. Yes, she would. She just wanted to go home. But… Romelle closed her eyes a moment. She knew. Maybe she'd always known it, from the moment they fled Korrinoth. She'd just kept questioning, and wondering, and refusing to fully accept the obvious.</p>
<p>Arus had made her realize. This ravaged castle, this ruined world. And maybe it was Allura admitting to doubt that made her finally confront her own.</p>
<p>"I can't go home. Maybe not ever." So long as Pollux was allied with the Drules—and how could it escape that?—she could never return there. The Ninth would not so easily give up what it thought belonged to it. Lotor wouldn't. "At least you still have yours."</p>
<p><em>But for how long?</em> "Do they mean to stay?" The doubt crept in. What she couldn't admit to Coran or Larmina—she already had to do enough convincing there. "The team. The Great Lions speak to them, and I know the Lions wish to help us. But your team… is that something we can even ask of them?" A note of panic entered her voice as Romelle's eyes flashed up to her. "Even if Arus has nothing to offer in return?"</p>
<p>Romelle moved a few steps away. <em>Am I really able to speak for them? Am I really a part of the team?</em> She looked back at the hopeful expression on Allura's face. <em>They've come to your aid—without hesitation. You know they're wrestling with this same question. And at least Hunk has…</em> a surge of indignation suddenly welled up in her. <em>No. We've come this far. It's no time for </em>her <em>to start questioning!</em> "I already can't go home." She turned and faced her fully, her eyes ablaze with determination. "Let them fight for yours."</p>
<p>Allura paused, then nodded slowly. She understood. "You're right." Hesitantly, she offered a small smile. "If you want… perhaps Arus can become a home for you."</p>
<p>Immediately the other princess shook her head. <em>A step too far</em>. "Let's not go there. I don't know if that's possible." <em>Yet.</em></p>
<p>Nod. "Fair enough, but the offer will still stand. You can choose, when you are sure."</p>
<p>When she was sure. Romelle wondered when that would be. If it would ever be. Perhaps she felt a little bit of what the others were going through. Perhaps she really was part of their team…</p>
<p>"…Thank you," she said softly.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The desert was as desert-y as ever. Hunk was searching for fuel for the grill; he'd have thought the <em>forest</em> was the place to go for that, but apparently not. Not according to Yellow Lion, anyway.</p>
<p>What did an ancient robotic lion know about grilling?</p>
<p>Technically, the question was more like 'what do a bunch of vultures know about fire sources?' and the answer was 'more than you would think'. He was following Baldy One and Baldy Two—whether they were actually the same two from the den, he had no idea, but there were two of them and they didn't have feathers on their heads so Baldy One and Two it was. As he followed them, he'd been noticing things he hadn't paid attention to during his last trek into the desert. Like the occasional batch of scorched bones sticking out of the sand.</p>
<p>Hunk had some <em>concerns</em> about his lion's friends.</p>
<p>Hunk also had some concerns about his lion, but that wasn't new…</p>
<p>His mind was wandering. He'd felt something earlier, like a ripple of icy water, and a growl of something like triumph had echoed in his mind. It was easy enough to guess at what had happened. Things were moving along, then.</p>
<p>Which meant, all distraction aside, he had to try to deal with those <em>things</em>.</p>
<p>Names, for starters.</p>
<p>Why so many <em>names?</em></p>
<p>Earthwarder he was okay with, he thought, and could kind of wrap his head around at least. It felt like a callsign, something familiar. Not a very efficient callsign—hell, even Crusher had never made much sense to him. He already had a one syllable nickname! But at least he got the concept. It was the others that were giving him trouble.</p>
<p>Knight of the Earth?</p>
<p>Paladin of Faith?</p>
<p>Seriously?</p>
<p>
  <em>"You do have your stumbling blocks, don't you, my cub?"</em>
</p>
<p>He jumped. "Dude! Do you ever just say hello?" It felt like he shouldn't be startled anymore. Yellow was always <em>there</em>, a presence he was vaguely, subconsciously aware of. But somehow when the lion's voice came barging into his mind, it was still unexpected. "Or maybe just think about <em>not</em> always pouncing on my thoughts when you hear somethin' you don't like? There's a thing called boundaries!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I am not purposely 'pouncing on your thoughts', Earthwarder. Usually."</em>
</p>
<p>"That ain't one <em>bit</em> encouraging."</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will adjust to my presence in time. The Earth is patient."</em>
</p>
<p>"So you've mentioned." Hunk was pretty certain he got less patient every time he heard it. Admittedly, it <em>had</em> only been a day, but…</p>
<p>One of the vultures shrieked, and he realized he'd fallen behind a little while focused on the voice in his head. Which now that he thought about it in those terms, probably should worry him more than it did.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You see? You are already learning."</em>
</p>
<p>"Sure, I guess." He made a face. It seemed like Yellow should be able to do better than dropping 'told you so' on him. "You could be more helpful if you're gonna show up, yeah? You did this to me."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Did what to you?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk's eyes glowed, and he almost said something about that… but ultimately didn't bother, because they both knew it had little to do with his real complaint. Though exactly how to phrase that complaint remained a question.</p>
<p>
  <em>Did what to me?</em>
</p>
<p>Yellow was right. He hadn't done anything but force him to confront things he already knew. And maybe placed a duty on his shoulders, but he'd agreed to that. Then again, he hadn't been told exactly what he was agreeing to, because <em>faith</em>. Could he really be blamed for struggling with it?</p>
<p>The thought went through his mind again that all of this would be so much easier if he knew where the mask ended and he began. And his eyes widened as he realized the answer was <em>right there</em>.</p>
<p>"Look, dude." He shook his head slowly. "Just how much of me do you think is the mask?"</p>
<p>It felt like Yellow took a long time to respond. Probably only a few seconds, but compared to how quickly he usually had answers—or, more often, non-answers—it was practically forever. Finally he growled in understanding. <em>"What I think matters little."</em></p>
<p>Hunk stopped dead; the vultures squawked a protest and circled back. "Dude, what the hell do you mean by <em>that?</em> You just ripped it off for giggles?" That didn't even <em>track</em>. The lion had challenged him to be who he was…</p>
<p><em>"Yes. I challenged the existence of your mask, not its form."</em> Yellow purred in his mind, unusually gentle. <em>"I have not asked you to shed what you believe you are, my Earthwarder. Only what you know you are not."</em></p>
<p>It took a minute for him to sort through that, and it almost made sense… which felt like progress, because it sure as hell wouldn't have a week ago. "So what's that mean? No more Big Dumb Hunk, but I can still yell vroom-vroom if it makes me happy?"</p>
<p>Yellow chuckled. <em>"Yes. I am encouraging your scrap metal project, am I not?"</em></p>
<p>Hunk blinked. He <em>was</em>, at that. But it brought them back to the beginning. "There's some things I'm real sure I'm <em>not</em>, though. I know you don't think the pilot thing is a problem, but I'm damn sure not a knight or a paladin." He exhaled slowly. "For someone who says you aren't tellin' me to change who I am, you're tryin' to make something awful pretentious outta the bomb guy, yeah?"</p>
<p>The lion growled contemplatively. <em>"Tell me, cub. What is a knight? What is a paladin?"</em></p>
<p>He made a face. "Heroes in shining armor?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Are they?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Okay, <em>listen</em>, dude…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You do not think yourself heroic."</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk blinked. <em>Well, no</em>. It sounded pretty ridiculous, really. He hadn't signed on for this because he had some delusions of being a hero. But saying that would probably just get him lectured on faith again, and it wasn't the main point of contention. "It's more the 'shining armor' part, yeah? Not my gig. I blow stuff up."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah, I see."</em>
</p>
<p>There was another very long pause, long enough that he started to follow the vultures again. May as well multitask. But he was starting to wonder if he was going to get an answer at all. "Okay, and…?"</p>
<p><em>"We have never spoken your language before… the words were closest, but perhaps imperfect. Understand, cub. Those titles are not something you must </em>become<em>, something you must mold yourself to. You are my Bonded, the champion I have chosen. If you did not already fit those names, I would not have charged you with them."</em></p>
<p>…And they were right back to things not making sense. Again. He was getting used to that. "I'm not sure if that makes me feel better, or just makes me really confused." Definitely leaning towards confused. "So what, I was already earth-y? How? And didn't you keep tellin' me I didn't have any faith?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will understand in time."</em>
</p>
<p>"…Yeah, I know." They'd been bound to wind up here eventually. "Because the Earth is patient, right?"</p>
<p>Yellow chuckled. <em>"Yes."</em></p>
<p>Hunk rolled his eyes, but decided he could go with it for now. Maybe he could figure out what it meant to be himself… and maybe, if he could, the rest of this might start coming together.</p>
<p>Nodding quietly to himself, he followed the vultures down a steep slope, and blinked. The sand beyond the ridgeline was dotted with cacti, thick with wispy red flower pods of some sort. Baldy Two fluttered forward and plucked one up in its talons, then dropped it about twenty feet in front of him.</p>
<p>The pod burst into a shower of burning embers, scattering across the sand.</p>
<p>Hunk stared. "…What. The fuzzmuffins. Was that?!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Indigenous plant life. My feathery associates have long made use of it. Is it to your liking, Earthwarder?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Oh hell yeah!"</p>
<p><em>"You see?"</em> Yellow sounded a little smug, but more than that. Proud? Excited? If Hunk hadn't known better, he'd have said his lion was pleased to have shown him something cool… and maybe, he decided as the lion purred in his mind, he <em>didn't</em> know better. <em>"I am not all so disagreeable as you think."</em></p>
<p>"Maybe you're not, Yella Fella," he agreed quietly. "Maybe you're not…"</p>
<p>With a grin, he moved forward to check out the suddenly very <em>interesting</em> desert plant life.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith was trying to do something to ease his nerves. Specifically, he was trying to focus on doing katas. But the sword wasn't his own and it had a different feel, and he was still adjusting. Maybe that was part of why his mind kept drifting. To his own sword, now lost. To the <em>people</em> he'd lost, and he pushed it away before their names could form in his mind.</p>
<p>"Katas," he murmured in frustration, and refocused.</p>
<p>Lance was done being patient. He needed to find Daniel. The kid was clearly avoiding him, and at first giving him space had felt like the right answer. But now he felt like there'd been enough time and space. As distracted as he was about the Lion in his head, and the bonding—was he really as all in on this as he sounded?—Daniel was his main priority. Looking around as he walked down the <em>Falcon's</em> boarding ramp, he noted immediately that there was no Daniel.</p>
<p>But there <em>was</em> Keith, being Keithy.</p>
<p>For a moment Lance stared at the definitely-not-Drule sword in confusion before remembering the boss mentioning Coran giving one to him. He flinched at memories of other swords, from the arena, but he shoved that aside. <em>Focus</em>.</p>
<p>"Hey, boss. Have you seen Daniel?" he called out as he walked closer. "He's avoiding me."</p>
<p>"Not for a while, no." Keith had managed to be relaxed enough to hear Lance's approaching footsteps, and had already been lowering his sword. "He's upset…" Moving up to sit on the ramp, he trailed off and wondered about the rest of the team. Given what Hunk had said, what Hunk had done. Weren't they all off balance?</p>
<p>Lance frowned at Keith's words, then sat down next to him. "So, he told you something?" He sighed at that, at the fact Daniel would even tell Keith anything at all; maybe it was worse than he thought. As it ran through his head he looked in the direction of the volcano. He felt the Lion of Flame there, not speaking, but he was close—if that was even the word for it?</p>
<p>Keith nodded. "Yeah. I don't think he wanted me to tell you, but… the two of you? I can't do that. He's afraid, Lance."</p>
<p>Lance nodded, his mind putting things together better from Keith's words, the way Daniel had bolted after Hunk told them he bonded to his lion. "I have an inkling why…" Sigh. <em>Because we disagree. Again. About being here.</em></p>
<p>That sounded about right. "He's afraid of being left behind."</p>
<p><em>Ouch</em>. Lance was stung by that, but it made sense. He <em>knew</em>, even if he wasn't quite sure he understood. He remembered. "Yeah, that was my inkling," he muttered, then took a deep breath. "Just gonna have to tell him he's wrong." But he wished he was as confident as that sounded. Daniel would want proof, and he couldn't…</p>
<p>
  <em>You can't say you'll leave Arus.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You can't just leave Arus.</em>
</p>
<p>"I tried…" Keith sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure I got it through to him." <em>I'm sure it didn't get through to him.</em> "But on the… upside? he did tell me that he doesn't like me—in as many words—but he respects me. That feels like a breakthrough, right?"</p>
<p>Staring at him for what felt like a long moment, Lance finally gave a low whistle. "He admitted that? That's fucking high praise from him." He laughed, but also felt on edge. <em>Why do you find that worrisome</em>?</p>
<p>Because it was weird, that was why. It always came down to weird.</p>
<p>"He has his moments."</p>
<p>"Kid has a lot of moments," Lance said, more to himself than to Keith. There was a bit of pride in his voice that he decided not to dwell too much on. "Anyway, I need to find him, been letting him avoid me since the meeting. I mean I couldn't really stop him from walking out with what Hunk was telling us."</p>
<p>Keith nodded, smiling a little at first, but growing more solemn as Lance went on. "Yeah, speaking of <em>that. </em>What do you think about all of this?"</p>
<p>Well that was a loaded question. Lance shook his head. "Me? Fuck, I don't what to think of it. Being bonded? What the fuck does that mean? Not even sure how I feel about badass glowy fire eyes…" He sighed and looked around him. The castle, the <em>Falcon</em>. Arus's blue sky. All his instincts were screaming that this was where he belonged. "But I want to find out the answers."</p>
<p>Keith nodded wordlessly. <em>Answers would be nice.</em> He heard, <em>felt</em>, a soft crackle of lightning in response.</p>
<p><em>Well, he's as stoic as ever</em>. Lance gave him a mildly reproachful look for the silence. "And you? What's your take, boss?"</p>
<p>"I… I'm not sure. I mean…" Sighing, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I'm kind of in Hunk's shoes. I don't have anything back on Earth. But there is the Alliance. We have a duty, a mission." He looked ahead. "But these people need help."</p>
<p>"Yeah, I have nothing there either." He decided not to say out loud how much being here felt like home. Still weird. "But the kid wants to go back. Not sure why, he doesn't seem fond of his home, maybe it's just all the stress and he wants familiar ground? I mean, I get why people might want to leave."</p>
<p>"Especially the ones who aren't dealing with lions in their heads," Keith agreed. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Vince or Romelle." He remembered what they'd said at the meeting; they had seemed more receptive to staying, at least for a time, but he should know <em>more</em>. They were still a part of the team. Their points of view <em>mattered</em>.</p>
<p>That crackle of lightning intensified into a soft purr.</p>
<p>Lance considered that. Thinking about the others in Daniel's position, what home might mean to them. "Vince probably misses his moms, right? I don't know about Romelle, or what her situation is with her home. I mean, I know she's got some hangups being <em>here</em>." And who could blame her? "It's a mess all around, boss."</p>
<p>Keith kept staring into the distance, knowing it was in the direction of the lurking presence inside his head. "I feel especially bad for Vince. He's a good kid…" He was responsible for him, for all of them. For bringing them home. But could he? He'd already failed one of the kids, and…</p>
<p><b>"</b>Yeah, he is." Lance cracked a grin. "Bit well behaved for me."</p>
<p>Keith laughed. "Well, we've still got Daniel and an unpredictable ninja. I think we need Vince just for balance."</p>
<p>"That could be fucking true…" Lance took a breath. He couldn't dodge the real question. "Truth is, I want to stay here. I like it here. I want to help them, I know what it's like to have your world ripped up like this…" A pause. "And I like the lion."</p>
<p>A curl of warmth and a low purr ran through him.</p>
<p>"Yeah." Keith wondered if <em>he</em> liked the lion—he thought he heard it chuckle as he considered it. One thing he knew for sure, at least. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see what they look like. Pidge and Hunk have seen them…" As he spoke he remembered something else important. "Did you ever settle that altercation with Pidge, by the way?"</p>
<p><em>Fuck, awkward.</em> Lance scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I think so." Keith studied him silently with his Command Face, and he sighed. "We both apologized, we talked, I'm not sure if I understood him, or him me, but it ended on good terms…" He was really just babbling now, but it had kind of felt like it then too.</p>
<p>Keith just nodded. That was probably the best anyone could do with Pidge. "Good to hear." They fell quiet for a minute, neither ready to leave things there. "I wonder what Sven thinks," he finally mused. He'd hardly even talked to his second—but to be fair, the Viking had been busy lately.</p>
<p>"Last I heard he was grumbling about water. I'm fucking jealous of <em>water</em> the being the problem."</p>
<p>"You and he do have difficult ones to get to." Keith thought of his own. The other path. What would await him when the time came?</p>
<p>"Yeah… anyone ever told me before that I'd want to get <em>inside</em> a volcano, I'd have died laughing." He shook his head. "But anyway, I've not seen Sven today…" He looked up and blinked. "Well, until just now."</p>
<p>Sure enough, Sven was walking toward them at a pretty good pace. His mind was still reeling with everything that had just happened to him. <em>Weird</em> wasn't even beginning to cover it. All he could really focus on right now was the immediate worry that he was about to do <em>more swimming</em>. He was so focused, in fact, that he didn't even notice Keith and Lance until he heard his name.</p>
<p>"Hey, Sven."</p>
<p>"Are you damp?"</p>
<p><em>Am I damp</em>. He couldn't help a snort. And before he could answer properly, his whole vision was suddenly <em>blue</em>.</p>
<p>Keith jumped to his feet as the navigator's eyes glowed, and Lance yelped. "Whoa!"</p>
<p>Well, that worked too. "I've found my lion."</p>
<p>"No shit, Glowstick… wait? HOW?"</p>
<p>Keith shot Lance a glare for his language, but really he was thinking the same thing. Sven, as was his new custom, did not object to the language. In fact he did Lance one better.</p>
<p>"There are fucking <em>tunnels!"</em></p>
<p>Lance stared at the Viking, feeling his thoughts briefly short-circuit. He blinked. He looked at Keith. He poked the lion in his head, receiving an answering growl and that was it. And finally he managed to wrap his brain around those words.</p>
<p><em>There are… there are…</em> "There are fucking tunnels?"</p>
<p>Next to him, Keith winced. At the bottom of the ramp, Sven just looked at him, knowing exactly how he felt. <em>Exactly</em>.</p>
<p>"THERE ARE FUCKING TUNNELS?!" Lance shouted again.</p>
<p>"I swam and swam and swam. And she didn't tell me! Apparently my lion needed to be 'won'." Sven felt an amused purr vibrating in his mind, and had some thoughts about what Blue could do with her amusement but kept them to himself. If he could <em>actually</em> keep thoughts to himself anymore, which was in some doubt. "Yes, there are tunnels."</p>
<p>"Won?" Keith asked, feeling guilty, but reminding himself that he was told in no uncertain terms <em>not</em> to tell. The Lion of Storms gave a grumble of acknowledgment.</p>
<p>"Tunnels. TUNNELS." Lance couldn't get past it. Sighing, he looked at Sven, having a pretty good idea where else this would go. "Do I get to ask directions?" Then he added irritably for the lion, <em>or do you wanna be won like a teddy bear at a fair</em>?</p>
<p><em>"Teddy bear?"</em> The lion sounded confused. <em>"But yes, you must find your way to me."</em></p>
<p>The navigator frowned. He had gotten help eventually, yes, but that still hadn't been <em>directions</em>. "I'm honestly not sure. I'm sure your lion has their own version."</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm being told that… but thanks for the information. Fucking <em>tunnels."</em></p>
<p>Keith just stared at Sven as his eyes glowed blue again, and decided he wanted off that particular subject. "So, I take it this means you're okay with whatever it is we have to do here?"</p>
<p>"I am now," he answered after a moment's hesitation. That had only played so much into his reasoning, but he had accepted it. "Anyway, other than there being tunnels I have no new information… EXCEPT."</p>
<p>"Except?"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"That I must now go swimming <em>again</em>, to some flooded underground temple no less, for a key to a lion I have no idea how to pilot!" His rant was punctuated by his eyes glowing blue.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will do fine."</em>
</p>
<p>"When we crash," he muttered, "I want to hear no complaining."</p>
<p>Though he heard that last comment, Lance opted to ignore it. It clearly wasn't directed at them—and the previous statement was more concerning. "A temple?" So there was at least one of those somewhere after all. Great. "Fuck, be fucking careful. We have bad temple-fu."</p>
<p>"I remember." All too well.</p>
<p>Keith shivered, remembering it all too well himself. "Hunk and I fell in the actual water room there. Just be sure to check before you jump in, alright? I <em>still</em> get cold thinking about it."</p>
<p>"Ice cold water sounds far better than being electrocuted again," Sven countered, though he appreciated the thought.</p>
<p>Lance made a face, absently stroking his arm where it was scarred. "Killer vines, people. Killer poisonous vines."</p>
<p>The thought of the temple inevitably took Keith's thoughts back to others. For a moment he found himself wondering how different it might be, if… <em>no</em>. He shook it off. They had to deal with what they had. "Well… good luck."</p>
<p>"Yeah, good fucking luck." Lance snorted. "You'd think they might have wanted to leave these keys in better places."</p>
<p>"You would think," Sven agreed, and felt a low growl from Blue. She'd seemed annoyed when she mentioned the key; maybe even she agreed? "Alright. I was just stopping in to let someone know what happened. I'm off to drown."</p>
<p>"No drowning," Keith objected. "We promised Daniel, remember?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, do <em>not</em> make me go back on a promise to Daniel." Lance was having enough trouble there as it was.</p>
<p>"I'll try." Sven wasn't wholly confident he had much say in the matter. But it wasn't like <em>actually</em> drowning was high on his to-do list.</p>
<p>Before the Viking disappeared, Lance decided to check in one more time with his lion. Just to be sure. <em>You sure I don't get to ask for tunnel details?</em> All he got was a purr, and he shrugged. <em>Figures</em>.</p>
<p>"I think Hunk was right," Keith said as Sven headed out.</p>
<p>"About which thing?" Lance asked.</p>
<p>"The mission being shot. And I don't think the brass will like that."</p>
<p>"Yeah, the mission <em>is</em> fucking shot," Lance agreed, shrugging off the bit about the brass. Wasn't like he'd made an Explorer Team by making the brass happy. He had more important things to focus on now, anyway… "Fucking tunnels," he muttered.</p>
<p>Keith chuckled. "Well, happy hunting on your lion and Daniel."</p>
<p>"Thanks, boss," Lance said with a laugh, and shook his head slowly as the boss returned to his katas. It was time to do some serious consideration.</p>
<p>
  <em>Tunnel</em>
  <em>s!</em>
</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Despite being given rooms there, the team pretty much only came and went from the castle as needed. Which meant Vince had been <em>planning</em> on giving the place a wide berth for awhile. But if they were going to be staying on Arus long-term, something that seemed very likely now, it felt like he'd better get used to braving the possibility of ghosts. So he found himself heading for the doors, staring up at the castle's facade, distracted not by ghosts but the scope and fallen grandeur of the place…</p>
<p>His foot hit something as he came near the doors, probably some debris from the broken lion statue. Not that the <em>what</em> mattered, particularly; he went down flat on his face either way. "ARGH."</p>
<p>Why did this always happen to him? Hopefully there hadn't been any Arusians around to hear.</p>
<p>There'd been two.</p>
<p>Nanny had been coming up from the shelter, still in a huff over Larmina. In truth, being in a huff over Larmina felt like a nice bit of long-lost normality, but it was not comforting enough for her to <em>not</em> be grumbling about it. As she stepped out into the entryway, she heard a crash and a yell, and her eyes narrowed.</p>
<p><em>What are those hooligans doing </em>now?</p>
<p>Following the noise, she found an Earthling she hadn't seen before; he was just outside the main doors, covered in dirt and grass and frantically trying to brush himself off. She slowly raised an eyebrow. "Ah! Cleaning yourself off before crossing the threshold!" Nodding approvingly as he jumped, she decided this was behavior to be encouraged, and quickly. "At least <em>one of you</em> has some manners."</p>
<p>Vince looked up and blinked. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear around here. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm a mess, I fell." <em>I'm a mess. What an understatement.</em> Falling was really the least of his worries there, but he <em>was</em> trying to clean himself up.</p>
<p>"Hmph. Of course one might fall in this…" She looked around at the debris surrounding the door. "We should apologize, it is <em>shameful</em> how we aren't even in a state to entertain… Earthlings."</p>
<p><em>Huh?</em> That seemed kind of harsh. "No, we're very grateful for you entertaining us," he said quickly, and picked a few last blades of grass from his shirt. <em>Oy</em>.</p>
<p>Right about then, Coran arrived, having followed the noise from where he'd been walking the grounds. What he found was a disheveled Vince and… Nanny. <em>Oh heavens</em>. "Vince, are you alright?"</p>
<p>Inwardly sighing—<em>you never did learn his title</em>—Vince turned to him and nodded. "Sorry, Mr. Coran. I'm alright, I fall all the time."</p>
<p>"Ah, I see." After all the shenanigans with Hunk, Coran was not ruling out Vince being a soldier too, but he <em>really</em> didn't seem like it. But what was he doing here with soldiers, if not? "Please, just call me Coran."</p>
<p>Nanny had approached Vince to pluck some grass out of his hair; now she looked scandalized. "Lord Coran…!" One of the visitors <em>finally</em> seemed to care about propriety, this should be encouraged!</p>
<p>"Oh. Lord? Is that what I should be saying?" That definitely seemed a step or two above <em>mister</em>, and he flushed a little. But at least it was an answer. "Thank you."</p>
<p>"Indeed!" The woman smiled brightly, then curtsied. "In these dark times, we surely cannot abandon ourselves to <em>barbarity</em>. I am Lady Hys."</p>
<p>Exasperated, Coran shook his head. "Lady Hys… no." He turned back to Vince. A title, never mind courtly formality, would only make it harder to coax information from the newcomers. "I would prefer for you and your friends to simply call me Coran."</p>
<p><em>So this is that lady Lance mentioned</em>, Vince mused. <em>I think. No wonder they didn't get along.</em> She did seem like the kind of person who would use the word 'hooligan'.</p>
<p>Well, if being on an Explorer Team had taught him anything, it was to just go with it when stuff like this happened. "Hello, Lady Hys. I'm Vince Hayes." He bowed his head a little then looked back at Coran. "And I can call you what you wish, Coran."</p>
<p>Nanny huffed in disapproval, but that was really all she could do. Unlike her royal charges, who she certainly <em>could</em> insist on using their titles, she had no authority over the old knight commander.</p>
<p>He was perfectly happy about that fact. "Thank you, Vince."</p>
<p>Despite her disapproval, Nanny had come up from the tunnels for a reason. She probably shouldn't stay here to be annoyed by Coran's permissiveness. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hayes. I'm glad to know at least <em>one</em> of you offworlders might have hope." She shook her head.</p>
<p>"It was nice to meet you too, Lady Hys." Was he the only one with hope? Clearly she hadn't met Sven yet.</p>
<p>She nodded. "I must be off, I've been sent to fetch some things for the onpira farming."</p>
<p>Onpira. That word tugged at Vince's memory—oh, right. "I quite enjoyed those… mushrooms," he said sullenly. Maybe if he admitted it out loud, it would be easier to accept.</p>
<p>It wasn't.</p>
<p>"They are quite nice," Coran agreed, noting Vince's sullenness but unclear on its source. "And easy to grow."</p>
<p>Nanny departed with a grumble; such things as cave vegetables, never mind <em>fungi</em>, would not have been fit for consumption by the Court under normal circumstances. But these were not, and if she didn't leave she might say something <em>improper</em>.</p>
<p>Watching her go, Vince shrugged helplessly. "They're the first mushrooms I've ever liked, so… congratulations?" That wasn't quite the word he'd been going for. <em>You are a dork</em>.</p>
<p>"I'll have to relay your compliment," Coran said with a small chuckle, and eyed Vince more closely. He seemed younger than most of his compatriots, and not particularly good at hiding his thoughts… perhaps the direct approach would serve him best here. "Vince, may I ask you a question?"</p>
<p><em>Uh oh</em>. He gulped, but it wasn't like he could say no. "Sure, Mist… uh, Coran."</p>
<p>"Are you a soldier?"</p>
<p><em>WELP. Fuzzmuffins</em>. Eyes widening, he scrambled to try to figure out how to answer. Keith had never said to outright <em>lie</em>. And he didn't like lying, and wasn't particularly good at it… "Well, uh. Technically?" That wasn't wrong.</p>
<p>The advisor's eyebrows shot up. He was quite certain 'technically' was not a valid answer. <em>Either he is or he isn't. Perhaps employed by a military, a mercenary of sorts? Or only partially trained?</em> He wished he knew more about the Alliance's structure. Or really anything about it. "Hmm. What do you mean?"</p>
<p><em>I mean I'm not all that soldier-y, no matter what the title says</em>. He couldn't say that out loud. "Well, um. I graduated from a military academy before I joined this crew." Also not a lie. "I wasn't much good at combat though, my specialty is really electronics." <em>And sparking</em>.</p>
<p>"Ah, I see." He didn't really see. The idea of going to a <em>military school</em> to study <em>electronics</em> was wholly alien to Coran… but then, these were also actually aliens. He opted not to ask, for the moment. The answer felt honest enough, and asking for elaboration was only likely to get him an evasion, or an explanation of the Earthling educational system. Neither of those served his purposes right now. "You must be very intelligent. Electronics sounds like a difficult specialty." He had noticed the young Earthling taking a particular interest in Hunk's blueprint as they put the grill together.</p>
<p>Now he blushed, giving a nervous little laugh. "Oh. Well… I do seem to cause a lot of fried wires." <em>Don't tell him that!</em> "But I do okay I guess? Thanks."</p>
<p>Modest and unassuming… in a <em>completely</em> different way than Hunk seemed to mask his intelligence, but the general premise seemed similar. Coran wondered about what kind of unit this might be, if they were all indeed soldiers. Espionage? But one would think, if so, they'd be a bit better at not being identified as military.</p>
<p>Nodding, he decided he'd learned what he could here. "I suppose I'll leave you to your exploring; I need to go and check in with the shelter. Please don't hurt yourself falling."</p>
<p>"I'll try not to, though if I run into a ghost all bets are off." <em>Lame, you are lame.</em> Probably shouldn't have said that either, actually…</p>
<p>Fortunately, Coran either didn't take the comment seriously or just didn't find it strange. Around here it could go either way. "Good luck to you then," he chuckled, and headed inside.</p>
<p><em>Good luck</em>. Vince laughed weakly. That would be a nice change, wouldn't it?</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>With some effort, Daniel resisted concussing himself on the tree he was sitting against. Emptying his brain was usually so much easier, but annoying thoughts were still torturing him. Even Toast being on his head was not having its standard calming effect. He kept expecting Lance to pop out and accuse him of avoiding him… which he <em>was</em>, but he didn't need that. Because Lance would want to have a conversation, and by the end of that conversation he would have Daniel thinking distancing himself from the team was a bad idea.</p>
<p>Fighting down a groan, he threw his hands in the air. Why had he spilled his guts to Keith? There was <em>no way</em> Kogane hadn't told Lance everything.</p>
<p>The movement did draw attention, but it wasn't from Lance. Sarial and Allendar were on the move. Initially the plan had been to go hunting; this grill needed something to be grilled, after all. But as the captain had returned to the shelter, she'd been informed of something much more urgent: one of the remaining orbital reception beacons was on the fritz.</p>
<p>They were on their way to check that out instead. Only a handful of their orbital surveillance tools were still in functioning order; they couldn't afford to have malfunctions. Worse, it could be lingering Drule troops interfering. They knew there were small garrisons elsewhere on the planet, and it wouldn't be the first time one of them had been sighted near the castle.</p>
<p>She would have been more comfortable with the standard set of <em>three</em> soldiers that the militia was accustomed to deploying. But most of her scouts were already assigned elsewhere. Of her own usual team, Larmina was doing something for the Princess, and Hanso was still stuck in bed, so they made do. Except…</p>
<p>"…Is that an Earthling? With a salamander?" Allendar asked as Daniel came into full view.</p>
<p>"He has a name. It's Daniel."</p>
<p>"The Earthling or the salamander?"</p>
<p>Sarial supposed she'd deserved that. But she veered off to where he was sitting, regardless. "We can work with this."</p>
<p>"We can?" Shrugging, Allendar followed.</p>
<p>Daniel had still been berating himself for being stupid. He'd known better. Telling authority <em>anything</em> always came back to bite you in the ass. Hearing unknown voices quickly stopped the berating, and had him reflexively putting a hand on his gun. Then he looked up.</p>
<p>Sarial stopped calmly as Daniel jumped. "Dare I ask what you're doing? Other than going easy on the arm?" She smiled.</p>
<p>The salalizard had miraculously stayed on his head when he jumped, but hissed at being jostled. He pulled his hand back from his gun. "Just hangin with Toast."</p>
<p>"Toast?" Sarial looked at the salamander and considered that. It fit. Though for just 'hanging out' the salamander seemed quite agitated.</p>
<p>Daniel pointed to the salalizard and shrugged. "He needed a name."</p>
<p>"Why is there a salamander on his head?" Allendar asked. It seemed like the obvious question, and the Captain seemed to be taking this way too much in stride.</p>
<p>Sure enough, she just shrugged. "If the salamander wants to be on his head, I don't think we ought to argue with it." They did have their <em>quirks</em>. Looking towards the Earthlings' ship in the distance, she switched back to Common. "Are you your crew's lookout, then?"</p>
<p>"I'm not my crew's anything right now." He didn't have weird things happening to him that needed to be investigated, after all.</p>
<p>Sarial caught the bitterness in his tone, and was <em>not</em> getting in the middle of that. Except to offer a solution, perhaps. "Well if you're looking for something to do, Allendar," she gestured towards him, "and I were heading up to the foothills to check on one of our scouting beacons. We'd welcome some backup."</p>
<p>"Can Toast come?"</p>
<p>She raised an eyebrow, and looked at Allendar—who had no idea what was being said and suspected he didn't want to—before giving a small smile. "Well he hasn't set that tree on fire, so he seems well trained enough."</p>
<p>"He's pretty chill. As long as you don't drop him." Daniel stood up. "Lead the way, Captain."</p>
<p>Sarial nodded and motioned for both boys to follow her, then quietly informed Allendar, "The salamander's name is Toast."</p>
<p>"Why wouldn't it be?" Allendar shrugged. Maybe he should just stop asking about weird wildlife; Larmina had an actual <em>banewolf</em> when they retook the castle. After that nothing should surprise him. "Why are we recruiting an Earthling, again?"</p>
<p>"Because he's there." Recruiting? She eyed Daniel and considered that more carefully. It wasn't a <em>half</em> bad idea.</p>
<p>Of course, the salamander chose that moment to burp up some embers, and he groaned. "Come on, man! We talked about this. Not while you're on my head. It's called having <em>manners</em>, Toast."</p>
<p>Allendar yelped and looked at his captain, who just seemed amused. "Good luck. Salamanders are known for needing a good deal of coaxing when you want fire, but when you don't? Only too willing to provide."</p>
<p>"We're working on it. He's gotten a lot better." Daniel smiled. He'd only had them since yesterday, sure, but the salalizards seemed to listen to him pretty well. They were very in tune with what he was feeling. Which… was weird, but he wasn't thinking too much about it.</p>
<p>Sarial chuckled, then studied him for a moment. "A long term project then? The Princess has been a bit… vague about why she's extending your crew such allowances. Not that I mind, we can use all the help we can get. But I'm very curious to know your crew's position on all of this…" She raised an eyebrow. "If you're allowed to say, of course." Definitely not baiting him. Of course not.</p>
<p>Well, maybe a little.</p>
<p>Daniel immediately felt bitter again. "I honestly couldn't even tell you if I wanted to. None of it makes any sense to me, and I'm not really a part of it. Pretty sure we're going to be here a while though, if that's what you mean."</p>
<p>Even without understanding Common, Allendar noted the Earthling's expression and frowned. "What did you say his name was? Angry Lizard Child?"</p>
<p>Sarial gave Allendar a <em>look</em>, though she had to bite back a laugh. She'd already recruited Angry Noble Banewolf Child to the militia, <em>apparently</em>, what was another? "We can sympathize about things not making sense." She looked to the sky and sighed. "Very little here has made sense since the sinycka came. Not unlike your situation, yes?"</p>
<p>"Yeah… I'm so over weird." <em>Weird</em> was taking away his team.</p>
<p>It got him a nod of agreement. "None of us ever imagined anything like this. Perhaps the rest of your crew is as lost as we were in the aftermath."</p>
<p>The suggestion didn't give as much comfort as she'd hoped. Daniel shook his head. They weren't lost, they had paths to follow. Confusing paths, but paths. He just didn't have one at all.</p>
<p>She noted his doubtful look and considered her next step. Certainly she shouldn't be encouraging any bitterness he held towards his own team, but she also knew that understanding usually helped. It was a thin line to walk, but they <em>were</em> on the same side. "If they could spare you for a bit of more focused work for a time, I know someone who could provide it."</p>
<p>"My current orders are to…" Daniel thought for a moment. "I don't actually have any, hence the tree sitting. Think this 'someone' has anything remotely more entertaining than watching grass grow?" Honestly, he'd take anything that wasn't watching his bitter flame of resentment grow larger.</p>
<p>Sarial led them to a hidden path in the underbrush, moving into the foothills. She drew her bow, and Allendar seemed to become more alert as well. "Depends how you feel about hunting, reconnaissance, and the unlikely but lingering suspicion that there might be a sinycka straggler around every corner."</p>
<p>Noting their state of alertness, Daniel put his hand on his own weapon in response. "Well, that's only <em>slightly</em> more entertaining than watching grass grow, but I guess I don't have anything else to do."</p>
<p>"It might grow on you," she said, lowering her voice. A wind blew past them and she got back to business. "This beacon we're looking for sent several false positives yesterday. It's not <em>likely</em> that some Drule insurgent has tampered with it, but we can't be too careful."</p>
<p>He nodded. "Understood."</p>
<p>The Captain was a little surprised at how businesslike he seemed, salamander on his head and all. Once again it had her thinking about Coran's suspicions that they were soldiers.</p>
<p>Allendar moved to take the lead around a hundred yards in. He was a decent knife-fighter; Captain Sarial was better with a bow, and he didn't know what Daniel could do but there <em>was</em> a cast on his arm. Daniel responded by pulling his gun and flanking his left. He was the only one with a real firearm, and wanted to make sure he could get a clear line of sight on anything that popped out at them.</p>
<p><em>He knows what he's doing.</em> Sarial nodded slowly. The Earthlings <em>did</em> survive the Drule arena, after all…</p>
<p>As they started up the rather steep hill to where the beacon was, something large crashed in a bush next to Allendar. All three reacted immediately. Daniel whipped around towards it, ready to fire. Allendar leveled his slingbow and dropped back half a step. Sarial dropped to one knee and pulled back her bow, sighting between the two.</p>
<p>Making eye contact for a moment, Daniel and Allendar nodded and focused on the movement. A second later, a huge bear-like creature poked its head out of the undergrowth and snuffled at them.</p>
<p>If it had been a bird it would already be dead, but given what it <em>was</em>, Daniel wasn't sure if he should shoot it or not. He raised an eyebrow in Allendar's direction, hoping he'd understand what he was asking.</p>
<p>"Serhect," Allendar whispered; a lower slopes brushbear, one of the very few that <em>didn't</em> call for shooting on sight. Their mountain-dwelling cousins were notably <em>cranky</em>. He knew the name wouldn't mean anything to the Earthling, so he lowered his slingbow slightly. Not enough that he couldn't open fire immediately if need be, but enough to get the point across.</p>
<p><em>Don't shoot it, but don't </em>not <em>shoot it. Got it.</em></p>
<p>The bear snuffled at them again, but they weren't fruit, so it disappeared back into the underbrush. Daniel lowered his weapon; he did <em>not</em> put it away, and quickly scanned the rest of their surroundings. Just to make sure there weren't any more large mammals with large teeth.</p>
<p>Allendar exhaled, not putting his weapon away either, and gave Daniel a small grin. He wasn't a bad wingmate, for an Earthling with a salamander on his head… Daniel shot him a small smile back, and patted Toast for being so well behaved.</p>
<p>"The serhect are awake early, <em>good to know</em>," Sarial murmured in Arusian. It had been a few months since they'd had to worry about <em>that</em>. She nodded at Daniel and switched to Common. "Your entertainment may vary, but our work is certainly more exciting?"</p>
<p>"Definitely." Daniel paused for a moment. The thought occurred to him that he should probably run this by Keith, or at least Lance. But he'd already run too much by Keith, and avoiding Lance was still number one on his priority list.</p>
<p>They reached the beacon with no more interruptions. It looked undisturbed. Sarial nodded for Allendar to check it out; he was one of the militia's best engineers. As he worked on doing whatever he was doing, Daniel kept watch, and the captain looked over at him. "I am quite serious about that invitation, you know."</p>
<p>"Figured. I'd like to. Got nothing better to do." And joining a militia sounded kind of fun, he had to admit. Would this maybe even be considered responsible behavior? Daniel nodded, it felt responsible-ish.</p>
<p>Sarial smiled and looked back to Allendar. "You'll need to learn the basics of Arusian, but I can help you with that." A sly smile graced her face. "And before you let that change your mind… if you learn our language, you'd be able to read some of the books I managed to preserve from the village library. Including the guide to identification and handling of native reptiles?"</p>
<p>Allendar, much like Hanso, recognized Sarial's 'I'm just giving you better ideas' tone, and stifled a chuckle as he checked through the wiring.</p>
<p>Protests had been forming in Daniel's mind, because school and books were <em>not</em> his thing, but learning more about alien reptiles sounded okay. And learning the language sounded like something he should do either way, the way things were shaping up.</p>
<p>Just in case…</p>
<p>"I guess… Fair warning, I hate school." He would have used a stronger word than 'hate' but he didn't want to discourage her too much. Not enough to talk her out of this. "And I'm not good at it." But a little discouragement was fine.</p>
<p>She was not discouraged. "I promise not to hold any excessive expectations." The key word there was <em>excessive</em>.</p>
<p>Daniel caught the word but just sighed. It was no use, Lance's stupid expectations disease had already infected her, he should have known. "Great." Sarial held out her hand and he stared in confusion. <em>Huh?</em> "Are we going to hold hands now?"</p>
<p>The Arusian tilted her head and lowered her hand. "Are handshakes obsolete in Alliance culture now? I'll need to update my books."</p>
<p>"Oh!" Daniel burst out laughing. "I haven't been around Alliance people in so long…" The team didn't count, they worked more in friendly punches than handshakes. He held out his hand, and Sarial shook it while giving a little laugh herself.</p>
<p>"It was an attempt, at least. Welcome aboard."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sven shook his head as he looked over the river. And more to the point, the structure beneath the river—built into a large basin beneath a waterfall that looked like it may have once been dammed. But the dam wasn't there anymore. Just water.</p>
<p>
  <em>She can't be serious.</em>
</p>
<p>Blue had informed him that her key was in an underwater temple, sure… but for whatever reason, he hadn't been expecting <em>this</em>. The temple seemed massive, the river even more so, did this planet not do small bodies of water? The water was clear enough to give him a good view of the temple, at least. For all the good <em>that</em> did.</p>
<p>It was impressive, and not just because of its size. The swirling blue designs on the walls were distorted from the water, not to mention covered in algae, but still beautiful. The only parts of the temple not submerged were a couple of tall towers on either side of the building. Which had windows, but they were so far above the surface of the water he'd have no way to climb inside—the stone was smooth, sheer, and slick with more algae near the water level. His only other option was the actual entrance to the temple, which was very much underwater.</p>
<p>"Are we sure that this key is actually here?" With his luck, he'd swim all the way down there and she'd suddenly remember it was elsewhere.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes, cub. In the very center of the temple."</em>
</p>
<p>Sven's eyebrows nearly hit the skyline. "The center of the… you remember that this thing is <em>underwater,</em> correct?"</p>
<p><em>"Yes, cub."</em> She sounded a little exasperated, but that wasn't Sven's problem. Swimming in an underwater temple, without knowing the layout and without equipment, was a fabulous way to die.</p>
<p>"You also remember how drowning works for us non-robotic beings?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>"Just checking." Sven took off his shirt and sighed. He'd trusted her this far… no time to stop now. "If I die I'm going to be highly agitated."</p>
<p><em>"I'd expect nothing less."</em> She seemed amused.</p>
<p>He dove into the water and began to scout the outside of the temple. Even submerged, it seemed much more friendly than the one on Sorthal. Hopefully, this one wouldn't try and electrocute him, being <em>underwater</em> and all. As he studied it, he vaguely wondered how something like <em>this</em> wound up flooded and forgotten. It was even more remarkable without the surface distortion… would have looked even better without the algae.</p>
<p>Letting the questions slip through his mind—not the point right now—Sven swam up for one last deep breath before diving towards the entrance.</p>
<p>It was equally impressive. A wide open arch, etched with watery patterns and complex glyphs. It darkened quickly as he swam through, but enough light was sneaking through so he wasn't completely blind… if he weren't so worried about air conservation, he'd have stopped to study the carvings and runes on the walls. But the key was his main priority; <em>not drowning</em> was a close second. That didn't leave much room for admiring the artwork.</p>
<p><em>What was this place?</em> He hadn't exactly been asking Blue, but he knew if she'd wanted to—or could—answer, she would have. But she was silent.</p>
<p>Through the archway, he found himself in a very tall room with three staircases. Two identical sets of very steep stairs on either side, and one wide set in the very middle. He had a strong feeling leading him towards the middle staircase, and if the past few days had taught him anything it was to trust his feelings.</p>
<p>Swimming up stairs was far easier than walking up them. He'd have said it was preferable, except he couldn't say anything just now, seeing as he couldn't breathe without <em>dying</em>. The stairs lead to a hallway that was considerably harder to see in. Did he go right or left? Going the wrong way was not an option.</p>
<p>Once again, a gut feeling told him left. He was running out of breath, but he could feel Blue's presence. She wasn't worried. He had to believe she knew something, he <em>had</em> to trust his lion. So he held onto his calm and kept swimming… maybe a little faster.</p>
<p>The farther down the hallway he got, the darker and darker it became. He only even knew the hallway had ended when he swam right into another set of stairs. Thankfully there didn't seem to be as many as on the first staircase, and as he swam up, light started filtering back in.</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait… is that the surface?</em>
</p>
<p>Reaching the top of the stairs, Sven popped his head out of the water. It wasn't the surface, but the room he was in was filled with air. A lot like Blue's den, the pressure and elevation must have kept the water out. And thank Odin for <em>that</em>, because he'd been cutting it close.</p>
<p>There was still water filling the room, but it was only ankle deep. The walls were untouched by algae and absolutely gorgeous; light poured in through translucent blue stone in the walls. It did remind him a little of the crystal room in the Sorthal temple, wide open and intricately decorated, except instead of five different colors it was filled with blues and grays.</p>
<p>There was a stand in the center of the room, but whatever it was meant to be holding was gone. Was the key supposed to be there? "Am I in the right place?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes."</em>
</p>
<p>Alright, that was good, at least. A little <em>more</em> information would've been nice, but he was used to that… he looked around the stand, hoping the key had just fallen off and was nearby. He spent a good ten minutes scouring the shallow water for it before he realized that he was trying to use logic. Logic only worked about half the time with this lion bullshit.</p>
<p>He could hear Blue laughing at him for that, but he <em>wasn't wrong</em>.</p>
<p>Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Sven let <em>feeling</em> wash over him, and he instinctively looked over into the far right corner. Of course. Why hadn't he just tried that when he first got there? The water was a little deeper in the corner, but not too much so. No key was immediately apparent… but there was a large crack between the wall and the floor that he couldn't see into.</p>
<p>Was he really about to stick his hand into a dark crevice that could have who-knew-what lurking within?</p>
<p>Yes, yes he was.</p>
<p>Sticking his hand in, he felt around for a moment before he brushed up against something smooth and round. He felt a momentary flicker of ice, and his eyes flashed blue. <em>That's it</em>. It took a couple of attempts to actually grasp the key, and then it was free of the crevice and in his hands. A blue and white disc with the lion's sigil etched into it, free of rust or algae despite how long it must have been submerged.</p>
<p>Sven allowed himself a smile as he looked it over. That hadn't been so bad, really. He felt <em>accomplished</em>. Now he just had to swim back… without getting lost.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh dear.</em>
</p>
<p>Blue was laughing at him again.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>"So. You Pidge?"</p>
<p>They'd walked to the forest in awkward silence, and by the time they entered the protection of the trees, Pidge's burn had started to ache just a little again. He stopped in the shade and closed his eyes, letting the shadows calm him, then nodded. "Yes."</p>
<p>"Heard of you." Larmina remembered wondering if he might be better than the others. Didn't she feel silly <em>now</em>. "From lizard hunters. Don't like anyone?" She was actually pretty sure Vince had called <em>her</em> 'the Arusian Pidge', and that thought annoyed her all over again. If he'd actually seen the banewolves without getting eaten by them, there might even be something <em>to</em> that comparison. And that would just be infuriating.</p>
<p>He looked at her and grimaced. <em>Of course they said that.</em> "I don't really… get along with people," he finally muttered.</p>
<p>"Me either." She nodded. It wasn't exactly sympathetic, but she could relate. "We find plants, never speak again. Yes?"</p>
<p>"I'd be okay with that. Doubt we'll be so lucky." He'd doubted it even before Green Lion gave an odd, knowing laugh in the back of his mind. Then he doubted it extra.</p>
<p>"Probably," she agreed with a snort. Fine, then. She could at least ask him the burning question on her mind… literally. "Why stand in fire?"</p>
<p>Scowl. "Hard to avoid, when it's <em>up there."</em> As he spoke, he veered around a shaft of sunlight pouring in through a gap in the trees.</p>
<p>Larmina stopped, looking between him and the patch of sun. "Burned by… light?"</p>
<p>"Yes." He kept his tone even with some effort. If he sounded like he was challenging her, he was pretty sure she'd accept, and he really did not want to deal with it. So far Arusians were not any easier to deal with than humans.</p>
<p>Despite herself, Larmina grinned. Stories about the sun burning those the Golden Gods disfavored were bedtime stories for unruly children—she'd heard them many times, obviously—not something that actually <em>happened</em>. "So can't do this?" She stepped into the patch of light.</p>
<p>He rolled his eyes. "It would be unhealthy." Watching her skin darken, he muttered, "I'd change color like an Arusian, except it would be <em>bright red</em> and wouldn't change back in the dark."</p>
<p>By way of response, she stepped out of the light, then back in, and repeated the process a couple more times just to show off. "Can't do this!" It was amusing her entirely too much, but it was the first time in days she'd felt any faint sliver of control over anything and she was going to <em>take</em> it, damn it.</p>
<p>Pidge hissed some very colorful Baltan profanity. "It would be rude to stab you," he said icily, drawing his knife, "but if you don't stop that <em>something unfortunate might happen."</em> He was not in the damned mood to have his failings shoved in his face even more.</p>
<p>Blinking, Larmina stepped back from the light—from his expression, she completely believed he would actually try to stab her. And it certainly <em>would</em> be rude if she had to kick his ass for doing so. "Fine. Plants. No speaking." She started walking again, heading to a part of the forest she didn't usually visit. She could at least take the offworlder somewhere that they wouldn't be likely to run into each other again.</p>
<p>For his part, Pidge recognized the surroundings, though he'd only been here once before. It was a nice walk still, even if he was pretty sure he'd have preferred the company of a monster wolf. Though he supposed Larmina was okay when she wasn't talking. Most people were.</p>
<p>The silence held until Larmina realized where they were. A soft growl echoed on the breeze, almost like a warning. A familiar growl…</p>
<p>Something huge and dark loomed beyond the trees. Something she'd seen once before. And an instant too late, she stopped—her cheeks burned—pain shot through her skull and down her spine, and the strength fled her muscles as the winds howled in something close to panic.</p>
<p>"Larmina?" Pidge whirled to face her as she gave a strangled cry and dropped to her knees. It was like she'd crossed a tripwire, or stepped over the threshold of some toxic containment. One moment there'd been nothing. The next… it looked, from the way her hair and cloak were whipping around, like she'd been assaulted by some gale, but he couldn't feel a thing.</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait, what…?</em>
</p>
<p>For about half a second, Pidge was sorely tempted to just walk past her. Maybe walk back and forth a couple of times, the way she'd taunted him in the sunlight. That first, petty instinct vanished almost immediately. He really wasn't that much of an asshole. He tried not to be one at all, he just wasn't very <em>good</em> at it, but really—</p>
<p>
  <em>You don't even need Flynn's theoretical disapproval to know what to do here, varetya!</em>
</p>
<p>He was moving before the split-second calculation had even finished running through his head, dragging her back from the slicing winds until her eyes fluttered open with a gasp. The golden marks on her cheeks were glowing, but it faded as her senses seemed to return…</p>
<p>"What…?" She looked at him, looked around, and her expression became sullen as she realized what had just happened. Again. "…Thanks," she muttered grudgingly, and he nodded.</p>
<p><em>What the hells was that for?</em> he demanded of the lion in his mind, once he was sure Larmina was basically intact. <em>I know I threatened to stab her, but I'm varetya and you're an ancient magical robot!</em></p>
<p><em>"It was not my doing."</em> Green Lion sounded… not chastened, exactly. Frustrated. <em>"Something is…" </em>Another long pause. <em>"Something is wrong."</em></p>
<p>Hunk's report flashed through the back of Pidge's mind. <em>Something went wrong. </em>Did the lions actually <em>harm</em> the Arusians somehow? Just by being there? Seemed like an odd trait for their guardians, but then, Romelle had said Voltron didn't belong here…</p>
<p>
  <em>"We are not yet ready."</em>
</p>
<p>It echoed through both of them—though neither knew that. They exchanged nervous looks, each writing the other off to confusion… and then both fought down their nervousness too late. It wasn't like they were going to <em>admit</em> it to each other.</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>"Plants somewhere else," Larmina said quietly, rising shakily to her feet and looking back towards the darkness. "Somewhere far."</p>
<p>"Yeah," he agreed, nodding slowly. "Definitely somewhere far." His eyes flickered to the distant outline of the lion's den; he didn't really want to go. Uncomfortable as he was with the voice in his head, it felt like he <em>should </em>be here. But he'd been sent along with Larmina, so he should probably stay with Larmina…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Go on, cub. Tend to your wounds. You will need your strength soon enough."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh, well <em>that</em> wasn't ominous. He snorted and got a small scowl from the Arusian; for some reason, it made him feel better. There was something much more familiar about being glared at than… getting cryptic warnings from mythical cat spacecraft? Yes. Yes, of course. Why not.</p>
<p>They forged back the way they'd come in silence, and the winds whistled softly behind them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Knight of the Winds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning found Hunk in the shadow of the Castle of Lions, arranging pieces of meat on two large grates and an extra tray from the <em>Falcon</em>. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was more than he'd expected… Captain Sarial had indicated they would have more later. Another hunting party had been sent out at dawn.</p>
<p>What better way to break in the new grill than a lunchtime cookout? And if the militia wanted to bring enough meat for the whole castle shelter, Hunk was only too happy to grill <em>all of it.</em></p>
<p>He wasn't alone in getting things set up. Sven had volunteered as his grilling assistant, partly to escape the ship before too many teammates started asking him questions about his newly glowing eyes. Questions were not something he felt prepared to deal with yet. Which brought him to the other reason for volunteering: he just needed to focus on <em>something else</em> for a bit.</p>
<p>Holy shit, he was magically bonded to a giant sentient cat ship!</p>
<p>"What did she say these things were called?" Hunk asked as he finished filling one grate. "Rollies?"</p>
<p>"Yes, I believe so."</p>
<p>"They don't seem real rolly to me." The meat was pale and lean and decidedly flat. "Which is good, that'd be annoying."</p>
<p>"I would think that would make them hard to grill," Sven agreed, rearranging the other grate to allow for the last few strips. The Arusians had butchered and prepared the animals; he didn't even know what they may have looked like before.</p>
<p>"Totally. Okay, put that grate with the smaller pieces on the left, we'll tone the fire down a little on that side." Grinning, Hunk set the other grate into place on the right side of the grill. "Dual chambers ain't just for showin' off. Though they <em>are</em> for showin' off."</p>
<p>Nodding, Sven moved his grate into place. "Yes sir."</p>
<p>The engineer paused, then shot him a dirty look. "Dude. Bad enough the ninja calls me 'sir' now, you <em>outrank</em> me!"</p>
<p>Shrug. That was true, he supposed, but Hunk certainly had the authority when it came to cookouts. "It was a conditioned response to being told what to do."</p>
<p>As he finished the statement, his eyes glowed, and he followed it up by rolling them dramatically.</p>
<p>"So does your vision go all blue when that happens?" Hunk asked, opening up the fuel chambers and adding some weird Arusian charcoal—that was definitely the technical term for it—and dried grass. "Wonder if it's more or less weird than yellow."</p>
<p>"Yes! Everything is in shades of blue." He positioned the grate as instructed and shook his head. "It messes with my depth perception."</p>
<p>"Right? I'm no pilot, but I know driving, and it seems like that'll fuzz it all up, but what do I know…"</p>
<p>"Neither piloting nor driving are my forte, I can't imagine trying to do either with this nonsense." Rolling his eyes again, this time without any glowing, Sven mused with some irritation that Lance probably wouldn't have any problems. Maybe he'd ask for pointers.</p>
<p>Snorting in agreement, Hunk looked over the grill. Everything looked in order except for the most important thing… "I think we're ready for round one. Wanna see somethin' awesome?"</p>
<p>Did he ever. "Absolutely."</p>
<p>"You uh, might wanna stand back." As he spoke, Hunk retrieved one of the secure containers he'd dragged out to the desert from the <em>Falcon</em>, and carefully removed one of the fireblossom pods the vultures had helped him harvest. "I'm not sure <em>exactly</em> how hardcore this'll be."</p>
<p>If there was one thing Sven knew for certain, it was that anything <em>Hunk</em> thought might be <em>too hardcore</em> was something he wanted no part of. He took five large steps back, watching with not-quite-trepidation as the big man set the strange red pod in the fuel chamber.</p>
<p>Producing a long, sharpened stick, Hunk stabbed the pod with a whispered, "Poke." As it erupted into flame he yanked the stick back, but it was much too late. A scattering of ash fell to the ground, all that was left of the pointed half. "…Holy fuckin' fuzzmuffins, Batman."</p>
<p>Yellow roared with laughter in his mind.</p>
<p>Sven stared; not even a brief blue glow could wrest his eyes from the sudden blaze. "That's a lot of fire."</p>
<p><em>"And he's not even my fiery brother's cub,"</em> Blue agreed.</p>
<p>"Yellow told me I couldn't be too careful with 'em…" Grinning, Hunk put a second pod in the other fuel chamber and went looking for another stick. "He was <em>not wrong</em>."</p>
<p>"Apparently." The scent of smoke drifted by, and Sven absently watched a tendril or two rising up. "What are those, anyway?"</p>
<p>Finding another stick, Hunk got the second pod going and stepped closer to monitor. "They're from some kinda cactus out in the desert, apparently the vultures use 'em." One of the navigator's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, uh, they're Yellow's friends. They kinda scare me, no lie."</p>
<p>Firebombing vultures did sound a bit more disturbing than poisonous octopus snails, Sven decided. Only a bit, though. A small bit. "You should take Daniel to meet them," he suggested with a chuckle.</p>
<p>"Birds, bro!"</p>
<p>"I know. It'd be entertaining." That thought probably went past <em>slightly immoral</em> to downright evil, but with all he'd been through lately, he was okay with it. They had to get amusement somewhere… as the grill burned merrily, he gave a slow exhale. None of this was changing the reality, the soft ripple of water that seemed to lurk in the back of his mind. "Does it feel… different than before, to you?"</p>
<p>That wasn't precisely the level of clarity he'd wanted, and Hunk gave him a <em>look</em>. "Dude, narrow that down."</p>
<p>No doubt he'd deserved that. "The lions. Their presence. With Blue, before, I wouldn't always feel her, but now it's constant. It's like I have no alone time." He grimaced. "Ever."</p>
<p>"…Yes and no?" Hunk shook his head. He was pretty damn certain he understood what Sven was saying, even if it wasn't precisely how he'd have described the sensation of <em>earth</em> hovering around him. "Like, Yellow's there, but he's not <em>there</em>, until all of a sudden he's all the way there." Oh yeah, that was an explanation. "Also uh, I might've had a talk with him about boundaries earlier…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can hear you, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>"…It didn't totally take."</p>
<p>"I haven't had that specific talk yet," Sven admitted, and heard Blue Lion's purr rippling through him. "Not sure how well that will go."</p>
<p>Heh. That was the question, wasn't it? "I mean, he's gettin' a little better. Probably just takes time…" He rolled his eyes, which glowed halfway through. "The Earth is patient!"</p>
<p>"I hope so." Sven wrinkled his nose. "Did you get a fancy title? Because she says I'm Icehunter, Knight of the Waters and Paladin of Purity, and I still don't understand what the hell that means." He shrugged helplessly. "What was wrong with Sven? There's so many more syllables now."</p>
<p>Hunk had started flipping some of the meat; now he stopped and looked back with a laugh. "Dude. I'm Earthwarder, Knight of the Earth, Paladin of Faith. Me'n Yellow had words about <em>that</em>, too…" He blinked and trailed off, then went back to tending to the grill. "Wait, purity? She knows you've started swearing, yeah?"</p>
<p>Sigh. "Yes, she knows. She's not a fan." Before the last few hours, he wouldn't have realized a disapproving purr could be a thing. He didn't want to talk about that. "I already had an alternate name with more syllables than my actual name. Viking! What am I supposed to do with an even longer one?"</p>
<p>Now that sounded familiar. "Right? Hell, nobody ever even used my callsign back with the Alliance, because I <em>had</em> a nickname and it was only four letters! Though…" Finishing with the rolly-flipping, he turned back to his teammate and shrugged. "I kinda like Earthwarder, I think? Just feels like it's askin' a lot. They all do."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is that not also what we had words about?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My dude, lemme commiserate with my teammate here, yeah?</em>
</p>
<p>"Exactly," Sven agreed, feeling more relieved than he would've thought. At least he wasn't the only one of them having this problem. "Icehunter, though. How am I supposed to hunt ice?"</p>
<p>"Never been to a hotel, huh?" All that got was a mild scowl; Hunk turned back to the grill with a shrug. But his mind was latched onto it now. <em>Knight of the Earth, Earthwarder, that makes sense… but Knight of the Waters, Icehunter…?</em> "…I don't think it's that you hunt ice, I think it's that, like, you're ice and you hunt? Cuz you're the knight of water or whatever, and ice is water? That's how I've been lookin' at mine anyway, because if I'm supposed to ward Earth right after basically sayin' I might or might not be goin' back to Earth, we've got some problems."</p>
<p>An exceptionally bemused growl ran through his mind.</p>
<p>Sven was not much less bemused. "I mean, I suppose that makes sense, in a way that makes very little sense." He watched the wisps of smoke again and mumbled as he tried to sort it out. "I'm ice, and I hunt. What do I hunt?" <em>Hunk's Earthwarder and he's bonded to the Lion of Earth, he's certainly at least warding the earth, if not the Earth…</em> "Does that mean I'm hunting water?" A headache was coming on. Quickly. "Wait, if I'm ice and I hunt water, won't I melt?"</p>
<p>Hunk just stared blankly at him, then shrugged. Metaphors were overrated.</p>
<p>Mercifully, the smell of grilled filet of rolly—or whatever it was they were cooking—was beginning to attract attention from elsewhere.</p>
<p>Pidge had slept in, which was extremely weird and he wasn't wholly certain how to deal with it. The fact that it was broad daylight and damn near lunchtime, yet he'd barely been awake for an hour, was throwing him off… it wasn't his fault, he'd been up late learning how to make Arusian burn salve. Larmina had insisted on him making two small batches of his own without help, just to be sure he had it down well enough that she wouldn't have to talk to him again.</p>
<p>He was fine with that, really. And it seemed to be working, so…</p>
<p>In any case, he was off balance enough to let Vince drag him to the cookout without protest. Truthfully he'd have liked some time to just <em>talk</em> to Vince, but maybe food first was a good idea.</p>
<p>Whatever Hunk was cooking smelled heavenly. "At least we know the grill works," Vince said with a small grin as they made their way over from the <em>Falcon</em>. "Not that I'm actually surprised. Hunk."</p>
<p>That made one of them. "Really? I didn't think he was serious." Or at least, he hadn't thought the goal was realistic.</p>
<p>"Smells like it, anyway." The other engineer shrugged. "It was actually pretty fun. Lord Coran helped."</p>
<p>Even Pidge had to admit that the thought of Coran messing with scrap metal under the big goofball's guidance was amusing. "De chyle."</p>
<p>Whatever that meant. It sounded benign enough, though Vince couldn't help noting the ninja seemed <em>off</em> this morning. Maybe. It was hard to tell in the best of times, and well, he'd been off for <em>awhile</em>. Hadn't they all? "You alright?"</p>
<p>No, he was not alright. "I'm…" He didn't want to talk about it. Then again… <em>let him reach out</em>. Vince had a way of doing that. "…The trip to the forest was weird."</p>
<p>Weird? With this team? On this planet? Surely not. "You found something though, right? You aren't burning right now are you?"</p>
<p>Pidge nodded. "It seems to be working. So far so good, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>"Good." Vince smiled. "I was worried you'd turn into a lobster."</p>
<p>That earned him a look of confusion that he probably should have anticipated. Then the ninja shrugged. "Probably get along with mechka alright."</p>
<p>…Had that been a joke? Pidge had made a joke! Laughing, Vince decided not to ask if it had been an <em>intentional</em> joke; he'd just enjoy it. "So how was the forest weird?"</p>
<p>Oh, no. He was not answering that one. It would probably just freak his teammate out, anyway. "I think it's probably always weird. Giant wolves, angry Arusians, lion in my head, you know…"</p>
<p>"I don't know any of that, thankfully."</p>
<p>Yes, then he <em>definitely</em> wouldn't want to hear about mysterious anti-Arusian force fields, or whatever the hells it had been. And it stopped mattering as they rounded the corner of the castle and the grill came into sight. The very large grill, two distinct columns of pale smoke rising up from it, flames occasionally venting out a chimney-like structure in the middle.</p>
<p>"…Okay, I was <em>not</em> expecting that."</p>
<p>"Uh. Me either, really."</p>
<p>"Didn't you help build it?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, but I hadn't seen the finished product." There was a whole new attachment off to the side—was that a sear box? Vince was pretty certain it was a sear box. "Looks like he added more to it that wasn't even on the blueprint."</p>
<p>"Huh." Pidge really wasn't sure what else to say about that.</p>
<p>The two engineers weren't the only ones attracted to the burgeoning cookout. Allura had known it was planned, of course; she hadn't been quite sure what to expect. From what Coran had told her, a 'grill' was something quite basic—a kindness they wouldn't refuse from their guests, no doubt, but perhaps more quirky than exciting. The enticing smell of cooking that had started to drift into the castle said something else entirely.</p>
<p>Following the scent, she found the small group starting to assemble and waved a quiet greeting. No need to interrupt anything, and she was curious to watch just what the Earthlings were doing.</p>
<p>What Hunk was doing, at that moment, was noticing that people were starting to show up. Perfect timing; some of the smaller bits of meat were looking pretty perfectly grilled. "Yo!" He waved broadly to the new arrivals. "First batch is ready, come eat somethin'!"</p>
<p>Nobody was going to pass that invitation up—though Pidge was more interested in the grill than the food. Sven startled a little at the yell; he'd still been preoccupied thinking about melting, metaphorically or otherwise, and his eyes flashed blue for a moment.</p>
<p>"Really?" he muttered. "Now?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are well aware that I am not in control of that."</em>
</p>
<p>So she'd said, anyway. Vince and Pidge had both hesitated at the glow, for entirely different reasons. But for equally different reasons, the lure of the grill was too strong for them to stay away. "Sorry," Vince said sheepishly. "Never getting used to that."</p>
<p>"You and me both," Sven grumbled.</p>
<p>Hunk chuckled. "At least you've got a normal eye color."</p>
<p>"Last I checked, <em>glow</em> is not a normal eye type."</p>
<p>By way of response Hunk just jerked his head towards Allura, who had not seemed the <em>least</em> bit concerned by the flicker. Why would she? She had glowy healing eyes of her own. The whole idea of 'normal', much like the mission, was kind of shot around here.</p>
<p>She and Vince filled two of the small plates they'd brought out from the <em>Falcon</em>, while Pidge recovered from Sven's glowing and circled the grill. He could see the signs of limited materials—not a single screw or bolt to be found, with simple but efficient latching mechanisms to supplement its structure instead. Finally he stopped and looked up at Hunk. "You made <em>this</em> out of battlefield salvage?"</p>
<p>Grin. "Sure did!"</p>
<p>"It's…" He looked down again and nodded slowly. "Impressive."</p>
<p>Once again, Hunk wasn't entirely sure how to respond to the ninja being nice, so he just grinned wider. "Thanks, little dude. C'mon, eat some uh… rolly?"</p>
<p>"Roli," Pidge corrected reflexively; they'd seen a couple in the forest. Even he had to admit that it smelled good, but he was a bit more concerned with other things… and having satisfied his curiosity regarding one of them, he couldn't distract himself from the other anymore. Sighing, he moved towards Sven. "Lieutenant?"</p>
<p>It was a welcome interruption to mental debates over melting. "Yes?" Though at least one person around here calling him by his <em>name</em> would be nice. "Please just call me Sven."</p>
<p>"Yessir." They both stared at each other for a moment as he blinked. "Uh, I mean, Sven." Why did none of the superior officers around here want to be called by their rank? "Did you…"</p>
<p>…How precisely did he ask this? There was no good way to say 'bond to a mythical robotic lion' out loud without sounding insane. Granted, they already knew they were all insane, but—</p>
<p>"—Bond to a giant sentient cat ship?" Sven offered wryly.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Is that what you're calling me?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is it wrong?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Hmph. I suppose not."</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge sighed in quasi-relief. It was still ridiculous, but at least <em>he</em> didn't have to say it. "Yes, that."</p>
<p>"Yes." His eyes glowed briefly again as he answered, and this time he didn't even bother to protest it.</p>
<p>Well, that was pretty unequivocal. "…I see."</p>
<p>Snagging a couple of strips of roli meat from the grill, the ninja retreated, leaving Sven to look after him in confusion. Should he ask what that was about? No, probably not. Pidge had his own lion to dissect his feelings.</p>
<p>Which she arrived to do almost immediately, of course.</p>
<p>He barely had time to try to get his thoughts together. The idea that Sven had bonded… why hadn't he expected that? No, he knew why. Sure, Hunk had taken the leap, whatever the hells that leap was. But he'd expected the team's <em>officers</em> to think differently—to think <em>better</em> of this.</p>
<p>And why the hells would he expect that? They didn't even want to be called by their titles.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You did not really think that at all, did you, cub?"</em>
</p>
<p>He scowled. <em>You know what I've been thinking.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Even you don't know what you've been thinking."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That has yet to stop you.</em>
</p>
<p>Green Lion purred. And suddenly Pidge was through with this discussion, through with these questions, through with her being in his head—again. He had some <em>thoughts</em>, all right. And he was going to go discuss them with her, face to big green metal face.</p>
<p>Glancing over his shoulder to be sure no one was going to stop him, he headed for the forest.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p><em>Typical</em>.</p>
<p>Vince saw Pidge walk off, but decided not to get in the middle of it. He did have his new dose of weird to deal with, and pressing the ninja never went well. Instead, he focused on his food, which was like nothing he'd ever eaten before. The roli meat was silky and just a little bit buttery, and unsurprisingly, it was grilled to perfection.</p>
<p><em>This would taste good with Betrayal Mushrooms…</em> he made a face. Just having that thought was a whole new betrayal. But it was true!</p>
<p>He wasn't the only one enjoying the food; Allura was fascinated. In the caves they'd mostly had to settle for boiling and convection, given the dangers of open flame in the confined space. Spices and such were long since exhausted. But she wasn't detecting any kind of spice in what Hunk had prepared, either; just a deep smoky flavor that set the meat off to perfection. He'd done this just with the proper application of fire? It was a welcome change, for certain.</p>
<p>Returning to the grill, she watched for a bit. The big Earthling seemed so casual, but there was a deceptive concentration and precision to what he was doing. <em>A good choice for the Lion of Earth</em>. Smiling, she stepped closer as he flipped a few larger pieces. "The way you've cooked these rolis is truly delicious."</p>
<p>Hunk startled a little and blushed bright. <em>She's a princess!</em> "Uh, thanks!" <em>Dude, chill, you've been hangin' with a princess since Korrinoth. …But she's the princess of the planet we're on!</em> He grinned to cover the flustered argument going on in his own head. "The Cap'n said she'd bring up enough, uh, rolis to take a bunch down to the shelters."</p>
<p>That was especially welcome news. Bringing the refugees up to this cookout wasn't quite practical, not least because she doubted throwing all of her people together with the strange aliens—not to mention Romelle—all at once would be wise. But at least they could have a treat beyond simple sustenance while she waited to bring them real hope…</p>
<p>Hunk's eyes glowed yellow, he groaned, and she giggled.</p>
<p>Vince noted the discussion and felt like he ought to join in, though he really had no idea what to say. Finally he retreated to what he'd been thinking earlier. "I bet rolis taste good with betr—I mean, uh, your mushrooms?"</p>
<p>The princess looked at him and smiled warmly. It didn't exactly take all of her powers of perception to recognize his shyness, and she'd heard from Coran's reports on the Earthlings that he seemed a bit timid. She'd also heard from Nanny that he seemed like a <em>fine young man,</em> which was the highest praise any of them were likely to receive. "Oh, yes," she agreed. "There's a special sauce based from a rarer type of mushrooms that is perfect with rolis." That particular type couldn't be grown in the caves, but… she looked between Hunk and Sven, and took comfort in her belief that such luxuries would return to Arus soon.</p>
<p>When the lions flew again…</p>
<p>"Really?" Vince blinked. "You have more than one kind of mushroom?" Of course they would. That was how mushrooms worked. <em>Are they all betrayers?</em></p>
<p>Allura giggled lightly again. "Hundreds, but only so many are good for eating."</p>
<p><em>Hundreds!</em> "Well, the brown ones, the uh, onpira? They're the only mushrooms I've <em>ever</em> thought were good for eating." Score one for Arus.</p>
<p>"If you spot a similar one, but with bright red veins, don't try it," she cautioned. "At least for Arusians, those are… very bad."</p>
<p>"I'll steer clear," he promised. Really, he couldn't see himself willingly trying <em>any</em> other kind of mushrooms. No sense pressing his luck.</p>
<p>As they spoke, others were starting to arrive. Lance was first, hoping the smell of food might have lured Daniel—there was no sign of the kid, but there was a princess, and that was for sure a welcome sight too. "Princess, hello!" He gave her his most charming wink, and was gratified when she blushed. It made the golden marks on her cheeks flicker slightly.</p>
<p>As it happened, Daniel was in the area. He was just hiding behind a few fallen chunks of masonry, having no intention of letting Lance find him. He had Toast on his head, Crouton draped over his shoulders, and a slightly rumbling stomach; seeing Lance distracted chatting with the princess was a relief. He darted forward to grab some food, waving quickly to the others and making sure he stayed very much at Lance's <em>back</em>.</p>
<p>"Yo!" Hunk shot him a thumbs-up. "Take some for the lizards too, if they want it." He had no idea what the lizards actually ate, but presumably Daniel did.</p>
<p>It had taken a little trial and error, but he certainly did. "They like insects. And snails. And worms. They're good, thanks though." Returning the thumbs-up, he retreated to the masonry. He'd have left altogether, just to be safe… but he might want seconds. Avoiding Lance had already resulted in skipping breakfast.</p>
<p>The debris shielded him from the grilling area, mostly. It didn't at all shield him from the castle, or the Arusian on one of the low balconies who definitely wasn't spying.</p>
<p>Okay, maybe Larmina was spying a little. And what precisely she was spying on was actually too interesting to ignore. So she jumped off the balcony and trotted up beside Daniel. "You found lizards!" As he startled and spun around, she looked at the one on his head and raised an eyebrow. "Lizard hat."</p>
<p>"I did!" he agreed excitedly; not even the angry redhead could ruin <em>lizards</em> for him. "And yeah, he keeps me warm. His name is Toast."</p>
<p>"Toast," Larmina repeated, and shrugged. <em>Why not?</em> "Avoid forest with them. Banewolves hungry." She reached up and patted Toast's head, then the one on Daniel's shoulders. "Good lizards." She did like lizards herself, though not near as much as the Earthling seemed to—she liked most animals. They tended to be better than people.</p>
<p><em>Banewolves? </em>Daniel remembered Pidge mentioning giant wolves in the forest, and decided that was excellent advice. "Thanks for the tip."</p>
<p>Lance didn't stay distracted by Allura for long; the smells from the grill were aggressively reminding him of one reason he was here, and he wasn't about to forget the other. He approached Hunk and Sven, grinning. "Hey, Glowsticks."</p>
<p>"Hey, bro."</p>
<p>"Oh, joy," Sven muttered. "Another name."</p>
<p>"Don't worry, you'll always really be the Viking." He turned to Hunk, who was snickering. "Can I get some food to go? And have you seen the kid?"</p>
<p>Hunk had, in fact, seen all three kids, but he understood perfectly well what Lance was asking. "Have at it, bro. Kid was here not too long ago, uh…" He looked around, eyes flickering yellow, but between the smoke and the flame vent he couldn't see a whole lot. "He went thataway-ish."</p>
<p>"That way?" he echoed, following the highlighter-vision, and noted the large chunks of fallen masonry in the distance. <em>Aha!</em> "Thanks, dude."</p>
<p>Lance took a bit of the roli meat and nibbled on it, and it tasted damn good, but it couldn't keep his attention for long. He had big plans once he got his hands on the kid… he swore under his breath again. He'd been doing that a lot since Sven had come back.</p>
<p>Of course there were tunnels. Of <em>course</em> they had to find them for themselves. Because compatibility quests, or whatever. Lance wasn't even sure what his life was right now, which was why he needed the part of it that still kind of made sense. Daniel.</p>
<p>Grabbing the kid would neatly knock out two birds with one stone. Let him know Lance could not be avoided indefinitely, and have good company to find the <em>fucking tunnels</em>.</p>
<p>Circling around the masonry he caught sight of Daniel. He was talking to the red-haired Arusian—Lady Larmina, if he remembered correctly—and was completely unaware that Lance was heading his way. Good. With a smirk, he walked up directly behind him, getting an odd look as Larmina noticed him; he winked, which just got an even weirder look.</p>
<p>Well, time to make himself known. "BOO."</p>
<p>Daniel started, jumped, and the salalizard on his head tumbled off. "Toast!" he shouted after the lizard, then glared at Lance. "Mother of fucking shit! Whyyyyyy?"</p>
<p>Larmina had reflexively caught Toast, who promptly hissed at her. A lot. "Don't hiss at <em>me</em>," she snapped in Arusian, "hiss at the offworlder in the…" Looking up at the newcomer, she blinked. "…very cool jacket?"</p>
<p>Whatever she'd said, it sounded much less annoyed than Lance would've expected and had definitely been directed at him, so he grinned. "Ah, a lady of good taste!" She gave him that weird look again, and he turned his focus back toward Daniel. "Me? You're whying <em>me?</em> You're the one avoiding, kid. But I'm going to forgive you and ask for a favor."</p>
<p>Daniel held his arms out to reclaim his salalizard, which Larmina handed back without protest. She had <em>no</em> idea what was happening right now, and felt certain she didn't want to. Keeping his eyes firmly on Toast, the gunner shook his head and lied. "I have not been avoiding you." It was Larmina's fault, really. She'd been <em>nice</em>, it had distracted him from his <em>avoid Lance at all costs</em> plan. "I've just been busy with my lizards. They take a lot of care." He put Toast back on his head.</p>
<p>Neither of them noticed Larmina walking away. It seemed like a good time to get out of there and find somewhere else to definitely <em>not</em> spy.</p>
<p>Lance shook his head at Daniel's lying. It was to be expected, he supposed… and really he had more important things on his mind. "Do you want to go volcano hunting? I have a lead."</p>
<p>Volcano hunting again? Daniel narrowed his eyes, because he didn't trust this at all. There was no way Keith hadn't snitched. A 'talk' was coming, he could feel it. But he couldn't say no or it would look like he <em>was</em> avoiding him, which he was, but whatever…</p>
<p>Also, <em>volcanoes</em>. He didn't know what to do. And especially not when Lance gave his best hopeful face. <em>Damn it. </em>He had to find some excuse to get out of this.</p>
<p>"I uh… you see, I have… the lizards… the Captain…" Daniel stammered and inwardly swore at himself. <em>What happened to your ability to LIE?</em> He felt trapped, flailing, and then he saw Vince. Vince could be his savior! He rushed forward, grabbed the engineer's arm, and yanked him hard so he stood between him and Lance. "Sure, Vince was just saying how cool the volcano was." He gave him his best <em>just go with it</em> look. "Mind if he comes?"</p>
<p>"Bwuh…?" Vince sputtered, utterly confused. He'd been walking back to the <em>Falcon</em> to brush his teeth, maybe floss, he was sure a bit of roli was stuck in his teeth. And suddenly he was being abducted. <em>Did he just say volcano?</em></p>
<p>Lance swallowed a sigh as he looked at poor bewildered Vince, and Daniel visibly trying to will him into compliance. The kid was really going all out on the avoiding this time, wasn't he? But it wouldn't save him.</p>
<p>"Fine, the more the merrier."</p>
<p>Daniel sighed, relieved. With any luck having Vince there as a buffer would stave off any talks. It was too hard to bury his feelings and bolt when Lance gave him <em>talks</em>.</p>
<p>For his part, Vince still wasn't sure what was happening and he was fairly sure he wanted nothing to do with it. But Daniel kept staring at him with a panicked <em>please</em> in his eyes. "We're uh, doing what now?"</p>
<p>"We're going to a volcano," Daniel answered immediately. <em>And not having a talk</em>.</p>
<p>"We're finding the fucking <em>tunnels</em> to the volcano," Lance clarified. "So I can meet the robot lion that lives there." He made a face as he said it, or more to the point, as what he'd said registered. His life was <em>strange</em>.</p>
<p>Vince looked between them. No, he really didn't want to be doing this, and he shot Daniel a halfhearted glare. The gunner responded with a panicked look, one that at least managed a dash of <em>I'm sorry</em> this time.</p>
<p>He sighed and nodded. Volcano hunting it was.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The forest, as usual, was dark even in daylight. Still a welcome respite, even with the burn salve doing its job. Darkness, or at least twilight, was still the preferred state of the Shinori… even those supposedly unworthy of the name.</p>
<p>Pidge remembered the first time he'd seen sunlight.</p>
<p>No, perhaps that wasn't quite accurate. Balto's sun, a faraway white dwarf, was visible; it just looked like one of a thousand distant stars. What he remembered was the first time he'd seen <em>sunrise</em>, the whole sky filling with blinding light and brilliant color…</p>
<p>He'd been six.</p>
<p>—The planet was called Kruos. An Alliance world popular with tourists, filled with plant life that had evolved colorful crystalline armor. There was no native civilization, but it was important enough economically to merit a small garrison. That, apparently, was how his parents had first learned of it, when tourism was not <em>exactly</em> a typical Baltan pursuit.</p>
<p>"I was stationed here once," his father was saying as they sat on the dark cliffside. Crowded with people, and yet quieter than home. The voices here were only sounds, with no fragments barging unwelcome into his mind. It was the first time Pidge had ever experienced that, too; he was only beginning to learn how to protect himself from such things. "The Alliance considers this a light duty rotation, but it was overwhelming at first. What do you think so far?"</p>
<p>"I don't know." He'd been uncomfortable, on edge. "I don't think I know?" The strange glasses they wore were awkward, and made the surroundings murky. His mother and brother were elsewhere, and he didn't <em>like</em> being without his twin. His defender. Already he knew his place as varetya, that he had to always be on guard for threats.</p>
<p>Kruos so far seemed completely unthreatening, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. It couldn't be real, could it?</p>
<p>It didn't take telepathy for his father to read <em>that</em> thought. "It's not a trick question, Hiroshi."</p>
<p>Hiroshi. The name they had given him. <em>Wanderer</em>…</p>
<p>"Why are we here?" he finally asked. "You wanted to show me something, but there's just people?" He looked at the ground below, where leaves rustled silently. "And trees." He'd seen a lot of trees in his young life, and in his opinion, far too many people.</p>
<p>An enigmatic smile tugged at his father's lips. "Give it a bit longer."</p>
<p>Patience had never come easily. He'd fidgeted, eyes darting around, still waiting for something to strike where and how he least expected it. And it had done <em>that</em>. The sky was changing…</p>
<p>"What's going on?"</p>
<p>"Watch."</p>
<p>So he'd watched. The black skies had become blue, and other colors had started to bleed in from the horizon. It reminded him a little of the seasonal shifts in the Baltan ringlight, though the only colors there were silver and white cutting through the darkness…</p>
<p>And suddenly a sliver of pure <em>brightness</em>, blinding even through the protective glasses, was rising over the horizon.</p>
<p>"What <em>is</em> this?"</p>
<p>"Daybreak," his father murmured. "On most inhabited worlds, the sun rises and falls. It dictates so much of life. And yet, on Shinor, we once had no concept of such a thing."</p>
<p>
  <em>Daybreak…</em>
</p>
<p>The sunlight had soon poured over the forest below, and the crystalline leaves cast it back up in a shimmering cloud of rainbow light. Everyone else on the cliffside was gasping in awe, looking down at the vibrant display. But Pidge's eyes had been focused upward, transfixed by the light.</p>
<p>"Carry this with you, Hiroshi, if nothing else. There is so much in this galaxy you cannot yet imagine. You'll learn, in time." His father's hand rested on his shoulder. "You'll find why we named you our wanderer, and you'll find where you truly belong."—</p>
<p>A thousand times after returning to Shinor, Pidge would have cause to doubt that promise. A hundred times after fleeing to Earth, he would hate himself for failing to fulfill it. But in that moment, awed by the alien sunlight, he had believed.</p>
<p>And here he was…</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are distressed."</em>
</p>
<p>And there <em>she</em> was again. "Brilliant observation." He would've liked to glare at the lion in his head, but the best he could do yet was scowl through the trees. "Why the hells shouldn't I be?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I would not deny you your frustrations."</em>
</p>
<p>He wasn't sure how to address that, so he simply didn't. It could wait until he reached her and could glare properly. Distressed? Of course he was distressed.</p>
<p>On Arus, burned by the alien sunlight, he felt a hope he hadn't even fully grasped slipping away. Was that what she'd been trying to tell him before? It didn't seem logical. Yet…</p>
<p><em>Return to your Pride</em>.</p>
<p>He saw it now. An ephemeral glimpse, like the prisms of sunlight dancing through the trees. Something he hadn't fully grasped, perhaps never could. But he wouldn't let it go without a fight.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Romelle was relatively late to the cookout, but she was just as happy that way. It made her less likely to be noticed. She saw some of the Arusian militia arriving with more meat for the grill, and watched them pack up a bundle to take with them, presumably back to the refugees below. Taking advantage of the commotion, she slipped in to take a small bit of what remained on the grill and then retreated, hoping to find somewhere quiet and alone.</p>
<p>What she found was a slab of roofing that was now half buried in the dirt… she sighed. It still did hurt, to see the legendary Castle of Lions in this state. But right now it would at least help her a bit.</p>
<p>Except she wasn't the first to have the idea. Larmina had already chosen that bit of debris as her new place to not spy from, and blinked as the Arusian-ish-looking woman circled around it and startled.</p>
<p>"Oh!" Romelle took a step back. "Sorry." She was trying to <em>avoid</em> Arusians, this wasn't what she needed.</p>
<p>Larmina frowned. Auntie didn't want her being rude to the offworlders, and this one didn't have any cool animals with her, which limited her interest in sticking around. "I can go," she offered in Arusian. There were plenty of other broken bits of castle to hide behind.</p>
<p>"No, you were here first. I'm the unwanted one…" Romelle snorted. "…In more ways than one, I suppose." She turned to go.</p>
<p>With that, curiosity overwhelmed Larmina's desire to not talk to strangers. "What is <em>that</em> supposed to mean?"</p>
<p>It got her a look that was part startled, part doubtful. "You don't know?" Wasn't she a noble? An <em>odd</em> one, clearly, but…</p>
<p>Larmina straightened, crossing her arms. "You look way too Arusian to not be Arusian, but not Arusian enough to be Arusian." <em>Ah, yes. There's that royal eloquence in your own language</em>.</p>
<p>…She really <em>didn't</em> know. And much as Romelle didn't care to have a discussion on the subject, she was also tired of the looks. "You'll find out sooner or later, it may as well be sooner," she sighed. "I'm Polluxian. My ancestors came from Arus."</p>
<p>Polluxian… that word sounded vaguely familiar. Only vaguely. "Well, I didn't pay enough attention to my history tutor to know why you're acting like that's a bad thing. So I'll just not like you because you're an offworlder, and not because you're a specific type of offworlder, how's that?" Was having to trust some… estranged cousin or whatever she was better or worse than having to trust total strangers?</p>
<p>Though she would have expected to be annoyed by that statement, Romelle found herself searching for indignation that hadn't quite bubbled up. "Offworlder…" She chuckled softly and nodded. "I think I can live with that." After all the dwelling she'd done on ancient feuds and prejudice, there was something strangely amusing about an Arusian who was just… <em>grumpy</em>. "It's strange the way things have worked out, isn't it?" she murmured almost unconsciously.</p>
<p>Larmina side-eyed her. "I just said I don't like you."</p>
<p>"I heard you." Why wasn't she leaving? Maybe it was more than amusement. Maybe there was something familiar in the young Arusian's clear bitterness. "I don't think I like you, either, but etiquette does demand a certain civility towards my hosts."</p>
<p>Maybe the corollary of <em>let them reach out</em> was trying to reach out herself…</p>
<p><em>Hmm</em>. There was something to that, Larmina decided. And Coran <em>had</em> told her to spy, if the Polluxian wanted to talk to her, maybe she should take advantage of the opportunity to spy in her native language. "So do you understand the Earthlings any better than the other not-Earthling does? They seem, uh…" Her thoughts went back to Daniel and his lizard hat. "…Weird."</p>
<p><em>Ask me an easy one, why don't you.</em> "No." She shook her head. "They're very… confusing, and so much at odds with what I would have expected from my knowledge of the Alliance. But I think they mean well."</p>
<p>Easy for her to say. "But you were on their crew, right?" Somehow, Larmina's tone became more bitter than usual. "Must have been nice to be able to just go wherever you want. Don't know why you'd want to end up <em>here</em>."</p>
<p>Romelle froze up. "I… I'm not…" She winced, trying to fight down that reflexive objection, but it was too late. "I'm not exactly an original member of their crew." Oh, the hell with it. She'd learn this soon enough, too. "I only helped them escape from Korrinoth."</p>
<p>Korrinoth? "What were you doing on Korrinoth? Did Pollux get attacked too?" Did Auntie know about this? It felt like she should find out. To be safe. Some distant relative being on the sinycka homeworld seemed <em>important</em>.</p>
<p>"…No." Hunger vanishing, Romelle set the small plate on a bit of the debris and shook her head. She felt ill. But she'd also known, perhaps, that it wouldn't be so simple as only explaining herself once… sighing, she lowered her eyes. "I was there to <em>prevent</em> Pollux from being attacked," she said with a shudder. "I was to be married to their Crown Prince."</p>
<p><em>Wait, what?</em> "…Who the hell <em>are</em> you?"</p>
<p>"Romelle Asira of the House of Lachesis," she murmured. No sense hiding it now. "Princess of Pollux."</p>
<p>Larmina stared at her, fumbling for words. What she couldn't shake was how familiar it felt. It wasn't the same at all, and yet… finally she just snorted and looked away. "At least <em>you</em> got out of the marriage you didn't want by something that wasn't having your planet bombed to bits."</p>
<p>Had she? It seemed too early to say. "I hope you're right about that."</p>
<p>…<em>Oh</em>. Larmina blinked as that sank in. Of course the Drules wouldn't have approved of any of this. And what they didn't like… she sighed, and found a spark of compassion trying to shine through. "Well, welcome to our little hellhole, Princess."</p>
<p>"Please, just Romelle." That was becoming a reflex at this point. "And…" <em>I think she was trying. I think I might be trying…</em> "Thank you?"</p>
<p>They exchanged small, uncomfortable nods, decided that was good enough for both of them, and silently watched the cookout together.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Leading his unwitting companions into the castle, Lance quickly realized he had zero idea what the hell he was doing. Looking for tunnels? <em>Feeling</em> tunnels? He glanced at Daniel and Vince; neither looked like they wanted to be there at all. He felt a bit bad for Vince, but if that was what it took to get Daniel in here, so be it. He really didn't want to do this on his own. He wanted Daniel with him—it felt <em>right</em>. Important, even. Especially knowing the kid wasn't in the best headspace himself of late.</p>
<p>Nothing to do for now except keep going forward, he supposed. He needed to meet this damn voice in his head, and maybe then things would make sense. Speaking of the voice in his head… he held up a hand to stop the kids as they reached a branching corridor. "Okay, I need to converse with the lion, I think? Give me a moment."</p>
<p>Conversing with the lion, sure, why not? Vince shrugged. Daniel pointedly looked at one of his salalizards.</p>
<p>
  <em>Alright, do I get a direction hint?</em>
</p>
<p><em>"Sense me,"</em> the gruff voice answered in its usual cryptic style.</p>
<p>
  <em>What the fuck does that even mean?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Your instincts have done you well so far, cub. Trust them."</em>
</p>
<p>"Well that's fucking unhelpful." Lance groaned, annoyed, and wondered why he'd expected anything different. The closer he came to answers, the more impatient he got. Why couldn't he just be given a straightforward direction?</p>
<p>Daniel tried not to glare at the ground. He still wasn't cool with the team talking to things that <em>weren't there</em>, especially weird mystical robot lions. "Maybe it's like when I found Boss Dread," he muttered. "Just walk around and we'll find it." Really he wasn't sure he <em>wanted</em> Lance to find the lion, but…</p>
<p>"I'm supposed to <em>sense</em> him." Lance sighed, closing his eyes. Had he felt a flicker of warmth from the left? Good a guess as any. "We're going this way."</p>
<p>"Okay."</p>
<p>Vince shook his head as he followed. He was definitely a third wheel, but he was in the middle of this now. Might as well keep going… as if reading his mind, Lance looked over at him. "Vince, dude. If you see a ghost ask them if they know about the tunnels, would you?"</p>
<p>"I hope I <em>don't</em>." This was uncomfortable enough without being reminded about ghosts. "But why not, I could try…"</p>
<p>They walked in silence for a while, and Lance found himself taking turns he'd never seen without even questioning them. Was he actually sensing warmth? Really?</p>
<p>
  <em>We are where we are felt.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Trust your instincts.</em>
</p>
<p>His instincts always had served him well, true. But this felt like something well beyond that. This was magic. He'd never had <em>magic </em>in his life before…</p>
<p>…Before he touched that red metal. And now here he was, feeling that warmth, that oddly peaceful presence. It was comforting, even when it worried him… more to the point, even when it <em>irritated</em> him. Like now…</p>
<p>"Are we going in fucking circles?"</p>
<p>Vince shook his head. "Haven't seen this hall before." A lot of the castle corridors did look similar, but this one was too dusty for them to have already come through.</p>
<p>"I'll take that as a good sign." He glanced at Daniel, who was being too quiet. "So, busy with lizards, huh kid?" <em>Lizards my ass</em>. He didn't buy that excuse, but he could play along. "How are they settling in?"</p>
<p>Daniel gave a muted shrug. <em>Don't fall for it. He's trying to lure you into a false sense of security. </em>"They've been good." Toast and Crouton burped a few sparks.</p>
<p>"Well, the one you wear as a hat seems comfy. Toast, right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah. He's cool…"</p>
<p>Right. A fiery salalizard was <em>cool</em>. Lance felt like he was quickly losing this battle, and desperate times called for desperate measures. "Are you doing an impersonation of Keith?"</p>
<p>"…Excuse you?" Daniel sputtered. Vince snickered; that earned him a glare and a <em>shush </em>that made him quickly regret it.</p>
<p>"You're being all monosyllabic, it's not fucking like you."</p>
<p><em>Bury and bolt. Bury and bolt</em>. He tried to keep the mantra looping through his head—he was supposed to be <em>avoiding</em> talks—but he could not let an insult like that stand. "I just don't have anything to say! That's not a crime, and it's sure as hell not Keith-comparison-worthy!"</p>
<p>"Well it's damn weird, and I'm weirded out <em>enough</em>, kid." He stopped a moment, tracking the tendril of warmth through a doorway that no longer had a door in it. "You know, hence why I'm trying to sense my way to a volcano."</p>
<p>Snort. Again with the magical lion robot reminder. <em>"You're</em> weirded out enough?" And really, Lance had insisted on bringing him along. "I guess I have a higher standard of <em>weird</em> than someone having nothing to say."</p>
<p>Lance eyed him and an extremely uncomfortable-looking Vince, and decided he couldn't call him out directly. At least not right now. But fuck if he was just letting this stand. "Alright, fair… you be quiet and fucking weird if it makes you happy, I'm just happy you could come with me."</p>
<p>Daniel ground his teeth, Lance sighed, and Vince cringed. <em>Conversations with Pidge are less awkward than this.</em></p>
<p><em>"He is important."</em> The Lion of Flame's voice felt somehow hotter in Lance's mind.</p>
<p><em>Fucking right he is,</em> Lance thought back without hesitation, and took another turn.</p>
<p>The gunner trailing behind him was fuming. He hated it when Lance did that; he couldn't just leave it be. No he had to be all big-brother-y and do <em>that face</em>. The <em>just happy to have you here</em> face was almost as bad as the damn <em>disappointed </em>face, it was infuriating. Why couldn't he just get mad? Daniel could handle mad.</p>
<p>Arriving at a set of stairs distracted Lance from anything else he might have said. They went down, but the hallway also continued forward and felt slanted downward itself. His instincts weren't immediately taking him anywhere.</p>
<p>"Okay, give me a minute to… fucking <em>sense</em>," he said irritably, closing his eyes. It didn't feel any less ridiculous than the first time he'd tried it.</p>
<p>Daniel fought off a groan; he felt trapped, and the fact that he couldn't bring himself to bolt while Lance's eyes were closed didn't help. As if answering his thoughts, Toast burped and sent a few embers brushing against his skin; he jumped. They had discussed this! "You do that on purpose." Toast just burped again.</p>
<p>Daniel felt yelled at.</p>
<p>The commotion wasn't helping Lance's concentration. Grumbling, he tried a little harder to focus on the warmth, the path… and he felt something tugging his attention to the stairs. "Okay, we're going down."</p>
<p>"Maybe your senses aren't as good as you think they are," Daniel spoke without thinking and immediately wished he hadn't. Why bother trying to irritate him? Wasn't like it worked. Ever.</p>
<p>"I pride myself on my instincts, but this feels like flying blind. I don't like it," Lance admitted as they walked downward, and Daniel ground his teeth more. Just like he'd predicted.</p>
<p><em>"Yet you are following the path,"</em> the lion whispered.</p>
<p>Lance startled. <em>I am…?</em> There was no further response, and he sighed. "Apparently, I'm doing good."</p>
<p>"Really?" Vince sounded surprised.</p>
<p>"Yeah," he laughed, "that's what I said." His gaze lingered on Daniel for a moment; at least the kid had said <em>something</em> snarky? But now he just shrugged.</p>
<p>At the end of the stairs, Lance turned left, feeling more and more sure of the warmth he was following. Was it just his confidence building, or was it that they were getting closer?</p>
<p>"The salalizards are getting warmer, if that means anything," Daniel mumbled.</p>
<p>"Yeah?" Lance smiled. More at the fact that Daniel had shared it, though its echoing his own thoughts about the warmth should probably be encouraging too. "I'd ask them for directions, but I think that'd be considered cheating." He remembered the last time he'd tried that. "But keep sharing any salalizard updates."</p>
<p>Daniel wordlessly turned his thumb upward in response.</p>
<p><em>Talk to me, kid</em>. Lance grumbled to himself and took another turn at the bottom of the stairs. They were in what looked like a service hallway now. "So… you two haven't been up to <em>anything </em>interesting?"</p>
<p>Though Vince was pretty sure the question wasn't really meant for him, Daniel had hauled him along for some reason—he was getting the distinct impression it was to run interference. So he answered anyway. "Just helping Hunk with the grill."</p>
<p>"Just lizards," Daniel muttered. "Really." <em>And sitting around feeling bitter</em>. Which reminded him… "Oh!" The exclamation came out before he could stop it. <em>Great</em>. Now he'd have to explain.</p>
<p>"Oh?" Lance repeated, maybe a little too quickly. He could work with this.</p>
<p><em>Well, why not?</em> Daniel decided. It wasn't about his feelings, maybe it would be a good distraction from what Lance was actually trying to do. "I joined the Arusian militia."</p>
<p>Both Lance and Vince stopped dead in their tracks. "You what?"</p>
<p>"…I joined the Arusian militia." Daniel looked at their blank stares, confused. What was wrong with that? Was he in trouble? If anything he was being <em>responsible</em>, he shouldn't be in trouble.</p>
<p><em>Is that like him? Well, maybe, he does do unexpected things… </em>"Why?"</p>
<p>Shrug. "'Cause their leader asked me to? It's not that big a deal, okay?"</p>
<p>"Captain Sarial, right?" Vince smiled slightly. "I like her."</p>
<p>"Yeah, she's cool." Except for that nonsense where she kept having <em>expectations</em>.</p>
<p>"Wait." Lance was not any less confused. "Someone asked you to do something and you said yes? Just like that?" It wasn't the militia part that surprised him, he supposed, just the easy acceptance. <em>Who the fuck is this Sarial person? Just</em>—<em>how?</em></p>
<p>He was pretty certain he felt a growling chuckle.</p>
<p>Daniel grimaced, trying to get ahead of any trouble he was in. "Well yeah, I mean she just asked me to…" Oh. "…Okay, I get it now." He really hadn't thought it was a big deal until they put it like <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>"It's just surprising, that's all." <em>Tread carefully.</em> "They probably need the help. Tell the captain I'm available if needed, too?"</p>
<p>"It's a good thing you're helping them out…" Vince shrugged. It felt like he should offer too; he didn't have much else to be doing. But… "Should I volunteer? I don't think I have the skillsets they'd need."</p>
<p>Daniel ignored Lance—he was not supposed to be <em>talking </em>to him, damn it—and focused on Vince. "You might. I mean, when she asked me for help it was to escort her and some other dude to fix some tech thing. And then she asked if I could help with other stuff, and then I kinda officially joined. It was better than sitting around thinking about how—" he snapped his mouth shut, but not until after a strangled sound escaped. Every time. How did it happen every time? Lance was just <em>there </em>and suddenly he was letting things slip…</p>
<p>Lance ducked his head to hide his smirk at Daniel's <em>oh fuck</em> face. Vince almost asked, but took one look at Daniel's expression and thought better of it; he was afraid he might get a faceful of salalizard embers if he poked.</p>
<p>"About how what, kid?" their pilot asked innocently.</p>
<p>Daniel glared. "We're not talking about this, 'cause there's nothing to talk about. You would just disagree with me, and we both know you already know 'cause Keith's a no good rat—" —<em>Oh for fuck's…!</em></p>
<p>Lance eyed him, and Vince, who was biting his lip with a mix of amusement and mortification. The exchange was oddly entertaining, how Lance seemed to just be able to make Daniel blurt things out by <em>existing</em>. Vince wasn't sure he'd ever seen Daniel trying all that hard to not talk… maybe he didn't really know what was going on, but he knew it was, if not exactly funny, at least not <em>not</em>-funny.</p>
<p>Finally the pilot nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Keith's a fucking rat… BUT. I already <em>fucking </em>knew, kid. He just verified I was on the right track. And…" he pointed at himself and then at Daniel. "I do fucking disagree. <em>A lot</em>. And we <em>will </em>talk about it more in depth, sooner rather than later."</p>
<p>"Not if I can help it!" Daniel protested, then remembered they shared a room and inwardly groaned. Maybe he should try sleeping in his room in the castle… then he realized further that the thought of Lance telling him he was wrong about this was oddly comforting, and he rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Pfft. We'll see about that, kid…" Lance started walking again.</p>
<p>"You are <em>so </em>annoying."</p>
<p>"I'm fucking awesome."</p>
<p>"Completely disagree. So annoying…" But he said without any heat. It <em>was </em>annoying, it just made him feel good at the same time, but Lance didn't need to know that…</p>
<p>Toast burped again, and Daniel glared. He didn't need that commentary, either. Vince just shook his head, bewildered. He was not like this with his moms.</p>
<p>They fell silent; there were still tunnels to find. Lance focused again on sensing the growing warmth… it was getting easier, he realized, and he felt lighter somehow. He'd broken through—sure, he and the kid still needed to <em>talk</em>, but at least they'd made some progress. Even if Daniel was pretending they hadn't. And suddenly the warmth felt so close he could almost touch it, and he quickened his pace as they turned a corner…</p>
<p>Lance stopped short.</p>
<p>They'd <em>found </em>it.</p>
<p>It was an open room, with five equally spaced tunnels cut into the walls. There were five of some sort of shuttlecraft too, each pointing toward one tunnel. Awe, shock, and confusion all mixed together as he stared at the room, realizing they'd walked into something even bigger than they'd thought. <em>Somehow</em>.</p>
<p>He'd never seen anything like this. It was both natural and manmade, rough and hyper advanced. The shuttles seemed to be some kind of metal he'd never seen before… or had he?</p>
<p>Vince was already at the shuttles, touching them, an awed grin on his face and all nervousness forgotten. Meanwhile Daniel was staring at the tunnels, completely unable to hide how <em>totally awesome</em> he thought this was…</p>
<p>Which would be the first time the kid hadn't disagreed with him today.</p>
<p>Vince looked up, clearly reluctant to tear his eyes away from the small craft. "I've never seen shuttles like this…"</p>
<p>"I doubt many have," Lance stammered. "This is… fucking <em>wow…</em>" His eyes zeroed on one tunnel, feeling an instinctive warmth from it. That was it. That was his way to the lion, to something bigger than himself… to something he wanted, <em>needed</em>, badly enough he felt it scratching underneath his skin.</p>
<p>"This is kind of awesome," Daniel said finally, proving his earlier point.</p>
<p>"It's fucking completely awesome. It's this way, come on!" He raced forward and felt Daniel on his heels, all pretense abandoned.</p>
<p>"…I guess we're running?" Vince chuckled and cast one more longing look at the shuttles, then took off after them.</p>
<p>Lance felt ecstatic, <em>free</em>, finally feeling like things were going right, though also a bit nervous as to what was really awaiting him. But it was his impatience winning out above everything else, and he sped up still further…</p>
<p>Only to round a curve and skid to a halt, eyes wide, trying hard to not believe what he was seeing. "No." Maybe he could will it away. "Oh hell no."</p>
<p>"Oh, no," Daniel echoed from behind him.</p>
<p>"No, no, no. <em>No."</em></p>
<p>Vince caught up, winced, and walked right up to the obstruction that was suddenly ruining their pilot's day. He touched the wall of rocks and looked back with an apologetic expression. No way around it… literally.</p>
<p>The tunnel was caved in.</p>
<p>"…Gotta be able to get past this right?" Lance said finally, trying to keep his tone hopeful. But as he got closer it looked impossible. "Fuck."</p>
<p>Daniel shrugged. "I'm not the person to ask."</p>
<p>"Maybe we can move the rocks…" Lance poked at the obstruction, trying to pull a larger slab of stone out, and the pile rumbled ominously.</p>
<p>"Uh, that seems pretty unstable though…" Vince really wished he'd just stayed with the shuttles. "Probably should talk to Hunk."</p>
<p>Probably. "FUCK."</p>
<p><em>"Patience, cub…"</em> the lion whispered.</p>
<p>"Fuck. That. Lion!" Lance yelled, kicking the rocks—then he hopped backward, regretting it. <em>Ow</em>. "Fucking <em>figures</em>."</p>
<p>Daniel frowned. He didn't like to see Lance upset, but he also wasn't completely disappointed that he couldn't reach the magical robot lion. With a shrug, he held out Crouton. "Have a salalizard. They're pretty good at stopping my tantrums…"</p>
<p>Okay, he was being a bit of a brat, but <em>not</em> acting like a brat in this situation would just be wrong. Lance had just kicked a <em>pile of rocks</em>.</p>
<p>Swearing again, even more colorfully, Lance looked back at Daniel and arched an eyebrow. Kid didn't want to talk, wanted to avoid him, but was also holding out one of his precious salalizards for him…</p>
<p>He still had him.</p>
<p>It didn't help his impatience or frustration with the lion situation, but it <em>did</em> make him feel better. So he accepted the lizard with a grin, then turned back to the wall of rock. "Don't suppose you can break this down with fire?"</p>
<p>Crouton sneezed out a few tiny sparks.</p>
<p>"Good try, but guess not." Lance sighed. Vince was right… this was a job for Hunk.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sarial had arrived to the cookout just in time to see her newest recruit being dragged off somewhere; she could've sworn she'd heard something about a volcano. Well, she couldn't pull him away if his crew needed him. Since then she'd been kept quite busy—coordinating logistics, securing a perimeter, pretending not to notice Allendar sneaking a plate out for Hanso when he was supposed to be eating his own lunch. Ultimately she was one of the last to eat, though she was fine with that. At least now, unlike over much of the winter, they could be sure there was enough to go around.</p>
<p>She was finishing up when Coran approached, having finished his own meal and studied the surroundings for a bit. He'd been keeping a careful eye on the Earthlings. Even their leader's guard seemed down, just slightly, right now; it was the perfect time to get a few more answers.</p>
<p>"Are you up for a little fun, Captain?"</p>
<p>She raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't the grill fun?" Over the last two days she'd helped build a grill, recruited an Earthling with a salamander on his head, gone on an extended hunting campaign, and been invited to an actual cookout—they hadn't had this much <em>fun</em> since the sinycka came.</p>
<p>The old knight chuckled. "Yes, but pretending we know they're all soldiers and springing that on their leader would also be fun."</p>
<p>Aha. "That sounds less than noble." Shrug. "Sure, let's."</p>
<p>"Noble is a luxury we can't afford," he answered with a shrug of his own, and she nodded. The knightly ideals of Arus had given way to pragmatism long ago.</p>
<p>"You're so certain about all of them, then?" Sarial did have her suspicions about Daniel, and Hunk <em>had</em> kind of slipped up while they'd been assembling the grill. But there were a few she still hadn't even met, and then there was also Vince.</p>
<p>Vince, though, was a large part of why Coran had such confidence. "Fairly certain, yes. With the exception of the Polluxian." The revelation that Earthlings might go to military school for decidedly non-military pursuits had forced him to expand his horizons. "Unconventional soldiers, but soldiers."</p>
<p>Unconventional. Yes. <em>That</em> rang true. "I think you're onto something. Let's find out."</p>
<p>Keith had been keeping to the outskirts of the grilling area; he'd arrived a bit late anyway, some practice katas had gone longer than planned. It was good to see his team enjoying themselves somewhat, and being able to offer at least a bit of assistance to the Arusians. Maybe a cookout was a little thing, but the little things could be important…</p>
<p>He was sitting on a small stump, but stood as Coran approached. The advisor gave him a small smile. "Hello."</p>
<p>"Hello, Coran." He nodded to the woman with him; he assumed, based on what he'd seen of her activities around the grill, that this must be Captain Sarial.</p>
<p>"How's the sword working for you?"</p>
<p>"Rather well, thank you. It's a bit heavier than what I'm used to, but I'm adjusting quickly."</p>
<p>"Good, I'm glad." Coran studied him sharply for a moment. "If you don't mind, Captain Sarial and I had a question for you."</p>
<p>That answered that. "I'll do my best to answer it."</p>
<p>"We were wondering how such an odd group of soldiers came to be together on one crew. Sarial thinks you must be in the service of the Alliance, whereas I'm not so sure."</p>
<p>Sarial had resisted giving him the skeptical look she wanted to until that last part; fortunately, Keith was entirely too stunned to notice. He blinked slowly once, twice, struggling to keep his expression even. <em>How…?</em> Turning, he looked over to Hunk and Sven, but they were bundling up some more roli for the shelters and weren't going to save him.</p>
<p><em>Hunk said it best.</em> <em>Mission is shot. Really, really shot…</em></p>
<p>"…Yes." It was on him now, and there was no avoiding it. He felt an approving purr in the back of his mind. "We're an Alliance Explorer Team." Coran nodded and exchanged glances with Sarial, pleased his plan had worked out so easily. "I apologize for not being up front about it, but I'm sure you can understand our hesitation."</p>
<p>Coran nodded. He could at least somewhat understand it; Alliance troops on a nominally Drule-occupied planet <em>was</em> even more of a sensitive issue than if they were simply civilian travelers. "What was your mission?"</p>
<p>Why the hell hadn't they come up with a contingency plan for this? But then, the name would help. "Our mission was rather… esoteric. Most Explorer Team missions are. But just that, really… exploring, and reporting back to the Alliance if we found anything of interest."</p>
<p>And now they were back to the nonsense. "Of course," Coran sighed, making no effort to hide his disbelief. Though he didn't voice it, either. <em>See where it goes…</em></p>
<p>Sarial's thoughts had gone elsewhere. She'd seen Alliance maps; she knew Arus was a bit outside of what they considered known territory. Their leader was evasive, but he might not actually be lying. There was one point she knew for a fact he'd left out, though. "And Korrinoth?"</p>
<p>Keith winced. "Korrinoth was not part of the mission." He'd already told Coran the truth there, really, but saying <em>that's the one thing I was honest about</em> felt like it wouldn't help his case. So he sighed. "We were transiting through space claimed by the Ninth. We should have been protected by treaties, but they attacked and boarded our ship nonetheless… we fought them off, but our hull was compromised. We couldn't breach back into hyperspace before a second ship arrived to capture us."</p>
<p>He sounded too pained for any of that to be a cover story, and it at least lined up with what they'd said before. Both Arusians nodded in sympathy. "And then?"</p>
<p>"They declared us pirates and forced us to fight in their gladiatorial arena." Now that he'd started, he found it hard to cut himself off, though his voice was lowering as the memories assaulted him all over again. "Each battle was more difficult than the one before, until the last. We faced this… monster. Something called a robeast. We defeated it, but lost three of our crew." His voice was barely a whisper now, and he heard the lion growling softly in his mind.</p>
<p>Daniel had told Sarial about the robeast, and she'd reported it to Coran. The information had seemed pertinent, but how it had fit together was less clear. Things were falling into place now… "I'm sorry for your loss," Coran murmured, and Sarial nodded and lowered her eyes in agreement.</p>
<p>Keith nodded, quietly grateful, and let out a long breath. "As a reward for our victory, we were meant to be honored with a feast. But we didn't want any part of it. We took advantage of them letting their guard down to escape. That's how we met Romelle… she offered to help us, as long as we brought her along."</p>
<p>Blinking, Sarial looked at Coran. The Polluxian had been <em>where? </em>He waved it off for the moment; he could fill her in later on what they knew of that situation. For now, it was best to let Keith finish.</p>
<p>"We stole a ship to escape Korrinoth, then escaped over the border into the Seventh Kingdom and swapped ships with some smugglers. And then…" He shrugged helplessly. "We ended up here."</p>
<p>Coran nodded, sighing. It was quite the story, and it did line up with the bits of information they'd gained so far. "Well, for what it's worth, we are glad you've made it here."</p>
<p>It all made sense. Except… "But <em>why</em> here?" Sarial asked. "Arus seems like a strange place for aliens seeking shelter from the Drules?" Perhaps they hadn't had the range to get back to the Alliance, but Arus could hardly have helped them with that…</p>
<p><em>Good question</em>, Coran thought, hiding a hint of a smile. He should bring Sarial to all of his small talk interrogations.</p>
<p>It <em>was</em> a good question, though Keith was significantly less pleased by that. <em>Damn it…</em></p>
<p><em>"Trust them."</em> The low, rumbling growl echoed through him. <em>"Two are bonded…"</em></p>
<p>Trust them? It wasn't about trusting them. Not really. "Our mission would have brought us here sooner or later," he said hesitantly.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You can do better than that…"</em>
</p>
<p>Could he? Coran's narrowed eyes seemed to be saying the same thing. "What part of your mission, precisely?"</p>
<p><em>The part where we were searching for a mythical weapon, and it's actually here.</em> No, he couldn't say that at all. But then, the best lies had a bit of truth to them, didn't they? Their 'fugitive'… he could use that same principle. He hoped.</p>
<p>"…We were researching local myths and legends," he said finally, shaking his head. "We were going to be passing by here, and Romelle knew the Drules had conquered your planet. We had no idea you'd retaken it. We just knew… we needed to honor our lost, to complete what we could of the mission. So we hoped we might be able to sneak in and salvage something here, before the Drules could ruin it all."</p>
<p>He wasn't a particularly good liar. Coran could tell he was still hiding something significant, though the answer was more deceptive than outright false. But they'd pressed enough for now, and gained a good deal more information than they'd had before.</p>
<p>Sarial could tell from Coran's expression that the questioning was over. He looked suspicious, yet… satisfied? She felt like she was missing something—well, she was quite certain she was missing <em>something</em>. But she was pretty sure Coran was getting part of it. Probably something related to why these alien guests were so important to begin with.</p>
<p>For her own part, she wasn't quite ready to be finished here. "Perhaps you could tell us more about your… other explorations, then?" Maybe he would let something more slip. Maybe he wouldn't. But she was actually quite curious to hear what other tales this Explorer Team might have to tell… and they were supposed to be having fun, weren't they?</p>
<p>Keith raised an eyebrow. "Well…" He did have stories, no doubt. "There was one planet with a library at the end of a river of lava, and to even gain access I had to fight a… lizard kangaroo?"</p>
<p>Immediately, he once again had their <em>full</em> attention.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The massive tree stump that hid Green Lion was dark and silent as before. The air shimmered as Pidge stormed in, the cloaking giving way; apparently she was willing to entertain his <em>distress</em>.</p>
<p>Good.</p>
<p>"This is inevitable, isn't it?" he demanded before she could say anything. "The others. They're all going to stay." Only two had done this 'bonding' thing so far, true. But if Sven—never mind his reliably rational nature, the team's <em>second in command</em>—was staying, it felt like the rest was only formality. "And they're—and you're going to expect <em>me</em> to do the same thing."</p>
<p>To his intense annoyance, the lion answered calmly. <em>"Nothing is certain."</em></p>
<p>"Feels pretty damn certain to me. And why are you in my head, if not?"</p>
<p><em>"You misunderstand. Of course I want you to bond to me."</em> A breeze whistled through the hollow. <em>"But it is a curiosity. The decision to bond is deeply personal, yet you come with the assumption that your team's choices must dictate your own."</em></p>
<p>Well <em>that</em> wasn't what he'd expected to hear. He took a step back, trying to sort through it. "They have to, don't they?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do they?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Why wouldn't they?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Why indeed?"</em>
</p>
<p>Up until now, Pidge's annoyance with the mystical metal cat had been very much his own. She knew too much, and he didn't appreciate it. Suddenly he knew how the others felt when the lions they spoke to said too <em>little</em>. "You're not helping."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Perhaps not. How can I help, then?"</em>
</p>
<p>…He had not been prepared for <em>that</em>, either. "Wait, really?"</p>
<p><em>"Yes."</em> She growled, ruffling the moss. <em>"What is it you believe I can do to solve the dilemma you've come to blame me for?"</em></p>
<p>Oh. That sounded <em>much</em> more like what he'd expect from her. And as he searched for an answer, it became all too quickly apparent that he didn't actually have one.</p>
<p>
  <em>They're going to stay. The mission be damned, they're all going to stay…</em>
</p>
<p>The mission. He'd always had to cling to the mission. Every new assignment, he tried to remind himself he was just there to do a job, to make himself useful. He had sworn himself to the Alliance, and his honor—his worth, such as it was—lay with that oath. But he'd failed to fit in, failed utterly to uphold it, until <em>this</em> team.</p>
<p>This team, where he'd nearly been managing, until it had all fallen apart. This team, where he'd been trying to recover from the blow—encouraged by her, no less!</p>
<p>Where had it gotten him?</p>
<p>
  <em>I'll follow my orders. But which ones?</em>
</p>
<p>To remain loyal to the Alliance now would be to fail his <em>team.</em> To stay with his team was to betray that oath. Both were unacceptable. What could even Green Lion do to untangle that knot? Nothing short of undoing what had already been done could solve this.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Can it not?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Stop that!"</p>
<p>There was silence in the den for a few moments, broken only by the faint rustling of the moss. Then the lion purred; he scowled. The sound was so deep and gentle and reassuring, and he wanted no damn part of it. It wasn't so simple…</p>
<p>"…Why did you tell me to go back to them?" he asked finally, anger draining away into frustration. "Why not just take someone else? And if you even think about answering that with 'yes, why' or something…"</p>
<p><em>"I assure you I </em>am <em>thinking about it."</em> She sounded amused, but somehow sympathetic at the same time. <em>"How could I simply choose someone else? Do you think yourself some interchangeable pawn?"</em></p>
<p>"Yes!" Wasn't he? "I show up to do a job, I fail, I get kicked out to somewhere else. You have to have better options."</p>
<p>
  <em>"And yet, you were given more chances. Your skills were too valuable to lose. Is that not how you found yourself as part of this Pride?"</em>
</p>
<p>Explorer Teams. Right. Pidge snorted. "Sure, I was worth throwing into the middle of nowhere to search for something ridiculous they didn't believe exists…" He trailed off, blinking. He was talking to that ridiculous thing that might not exist right now, and annoyed as he was at her… <em>manners</em>. "Um, no offense. I guess."</p>
<p>Green Lion's bell-like laughter echoed through the hollow. But it faded swiftly. <em>"Very well. Why did I tell you to return to your Pride? Because you needed them, and you know this. That is why you've come to argue with me, is it not?"</em></p>
<p>…Not how he'd have phrased it, exactly. But he couldn't seem to summon up an argument against it, either. "Fine. But you're the one saying their choices shouldn't dictate mine!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Did I say that?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hadn't she? He thought back and blinked. <em>Mijtairra</em>. It was bad enough for her to know what was going on in his head. He really didn't care for the ancient mythical lion being able to <em>outwit</em> him.</p>
<p>…Which sounded a little silly when he phrased it like that.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Tell me then, cub. Your Pride and your oath stand opposed. But what value is an oath that is not sworn freely?"</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge froze. "What?"</p>
<p>The lion said nothing. Of course <em>now</em> she stopped talking. He was left to be plunged into the memory on his own, his first steps from the shuttle onto Earth… alone. He wasn't supposed to have ended up <em>alone</em>. But he was, and with nowhere else to go, no other options, he'd sworn himself to that world. To the Alliance. To the only purpose that had presented itself, the only duty he could see.</p>
<p>There had never been any choice involved.</p>
<p><em>"No,"</em> the lion murmured. <em>"You have the right to choose your path, cub. A right you have never been given before, but here you stand at the crosswinds."</em></p>
<p>Pidge shook his head slowly. It sounded so logical, so inviting. It sounded like such tortured sophistry. It sounded so right…</p>
<p>"It can't be that simple."</p>
<p><em>"There is nothing simple about it. You must determine if your honor requires you to hold to empty words of ritual… or to those who have </em>earned <em>your respect. And that decision can only be your own."</em></p>
<p>Earned his respect? Again, he couldn't quite seem to find an argument against it. Whatever doubts he'd once had about this team—whatever ability to <em>understand</em> humans he still lacked—he had come to respect their skills. But looking up at the lion, he realized why it didn't sit quite right. "And to not fail my team, I don't just have to give up on my oath to the Alliance. I have to accept <em>you</em>."</p>
<p>That had not been a question.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do you truly believe they would see it as a failure if you reject my call?"</em>
</p>
<p>That hadn't really been a question either. But he paused to consider the answer nonetheless. Would they? No, it didn't matter. "They might. They might not. <em>I</em> would."</p>
<p>The purr he got in response seemed encouraging, somehow. Was he on the right track?</p>
<p>What the hells was the right track?</p>
<p>His mind drifted back to Flynn. What would he say? Would he agree with her, would he approve? It wasn't as though he'd had any great love for the Alliance's command structure… and he'd damn well have dropped it all for magical mechanical cats. Did he have to accept this, to honor <em>him?</em></p>
<p>Green Lion growled. <em>"As I told you, the decision must be your own."</em></p>
<p>Deeply personal. Right. But…</p>
<p>Suddenly he understood.</p>
<p>"He—they <em>all</em> died for us. We can't fail the mission, we can't fail <em>them</em>. And if the mission now is this… bonding, if everything's changed, they'd be part of that too." He exhaled slowly. "Isn't it still my decision, if what he'd want <em>matters</em> to me?"</p>
<p><em>"…Yes."</em> The lion purred softly. <em>"Do you see it? You come to me out of loyalty, to the living and the dead. It will inform your path, as it must. But the first step onto that path remains your choice, my cub. So tell me… what do you choose?"</em></p>
<p>…She knew the answer to that. She had to. But he knew he wouldn't get out of this without admitting it, either. Lowering his eyes, he dropped back to sit in the moss, shaking his head.</p>
<p>
  <em>You'll learn, in time. You'll find why we named you our wanderer, and you'll find where you truly belong.</em>
</p>
<p>"I want to stay," he whispered. "With my team. With my… Pride."</p>
<p>
  <em>"And is that your choice? Even if it means trusting me?"</em>
</p>
<p>Trusting her. Was that what he was doing? He was trusting the rest of his team… those who'd bonded, and those who hadn't yet. Perhaps he was trusting the other lions. But to bond himself, not knowing what it <em>meant</em>, except that he could stay where he belonged…</p>
<p>"…Yes."</p>
<p>The great lion pushed one paw forward slightly, silver claws gleaming through the shadows. <em>"That is all I can ask of you now. The rest will come in time."</em></p>
<p>He looked up at her and took a low, shaky breath. This was insane, wasn't it? At least he could wait to see what the others did, surely. He <em>should've</em>. And yet… all the times he could have given up, laid down and died, he'd never stopped searching. He couldn't stop now, either. If he ran away now, why had he ever tried at all?</p>
<p>Rising slowly to his feet, Pidge stepped forward and touched Green Lion's claw.</p>
<p>—<em>The wind ripped through him, around him, stripping away the ground and the walls until the whole world was a vortex with him at the center, acutely aware of the sounds of the forest ringing in his ears and the zephyrs of the breath in his own lungs, and a distant echo of an ancient myth became a shadow, a physical form, but before he could fully glimpse it—</em></p>
<p>He stumbled back, falling into the moss again, gasping for breath as the entire hollow flickered green around him. "Komora…"</p>
<p><em>"Rise up, my cub."</em> The lion's voice felt <em>different</em>, somehow, ringing with the breeze. <em>"Knight of the Winds, Paladin of Loyalty."</em> The words flowed through him, and he blinked as he took them in.</p>
<p>
  <em>Knight? Paladin?</em>
</p>
<p>"I'm… you know I'm a <em>ninja</em>, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>Green Lion gave an enigmatic chuckle. <em>"You are not the first of those I've bonded to, either. You will understand in time."</em></p>
<p>…She'd what?</p>
<p>This <em>was</em> going to be an adventure.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The roli meat was finally gone; Captain Sarial and a couple of the other militia members had taken the last batch to the shelters. All that was left was to clean the grill and douse the flames. Hunk exhaled slowly, looking around. It had been an epic cookout, ruined castle and lion in his head and all… it had almost felt something close to <em>normal</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe we can actually get used to this?</em>
</p>
<p>Grilling was one thing and flying was another, of course. But today he was going to be <em>optimistic</em>, damn it.</p>
<p>Princess Allura had been there the whole time, observing the group, having small conversations. She'd discussed the distribution and logistics with the militia, of course, getting an idea of the situation; they had brought up a full day's supplies to be prepared, and reported the morale boost was noticeable. It was good…</p>
<p>Now she approached the two at the grill. The two she'd most wanted to talk to, away from the others. As Hunk noticed her she smiled and gave a small nod. "I must admit, you have me very curious about what other possible dishes you can make."</p>
<p>He chuckled sheepishly. "All kinds! It's a handy hobby." If cooking was what he could do to be helpful around here right now, he was all for it. Way better than—</p>
<p>"It does seem very handy." She smiled and lowered her voice, just a little. "I was also wondering… what does the Yellow Lion sound like?" Hunk blanched and dropped the tongs he'd been using; they bounced off the grate with a clatter. "I know what the ancient tales say, but what is he like, really?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You knew she'd been informed."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Don't you EVEN!</em> "Uh." Hunk flailed to recover—not much helped by the fact that Sven, after pretty much choking on his own spit, was visibly struggling not to burst into laughter. "Uh, he's very… gravelly?"</p>
<p>The princess had also noted Sven's struggles, and gave him an apologetic grin; he wrestled his composure back into place. At least it was Hunk and not <em>him</em> being questioned.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You think she is unaware of you?"</em>
</p>
<p>…Oh. <em>Well not now that you've ruined the fantasy.</em></p>
<p>Blue purred.</p>
<p>Hunk had no illusions that <em>gravelly</em> would be enough of an answer, but he was too blindsided to come up with much else at the moment. "What do the tales say?" he finally managed. <em>Yeah, get </em>her <em>talking.</em></p>
<p>"Well, that depends on the region." Allura tilted her head, recalling all the stories she'd read. As if she hadn't memorized them all, dreamed of them all taking to the skies… "Some say he's a bit of a prankster, in his lighter moods. Others think of him as creative, able to shape the earth and stone. But most of all, the tales agree that he is ever protective and caring."</p>
<p><em>Huh. So you've got good publicity</em>. Yellow purred smugly in his mind, and Hunk had to admit there might be something to it. The lion <em>had</em> gotten kind of panicky when he'd almost gotten eaten by a cave serpent, and technically they hadn't even been bonded yet. "We're still kinda gettin' acquainted," he said, a little apologetically. "But I wouldn't bet against any of that?"</p>
<p>The princess smiled. "Yellow could always be counted on. His word is solid."</p>
<p>"Now <em>that</em> I can tell ya for sure. Dude's persistent." Frown. "And patient." He lowered his voice to a whisper as he turned to retrieve the tongs. "And he'll tell you <em>all about it</em>, even if you don't ask him…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can still hear you, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And you know I'm right!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Perhaps."</em>
</p>
<p>Eyeing Sven, who still seemed amused by Hunk's predicament, Allura tilted her head again. "Blue Lion is calm and elegant, yet playful. She calculates her fights carefully, and she always plays to win."</p>
<p>The navigator considered that and nodded slowly. "That sounds accurate."</p>
<p>
  <em>"How kind. I haven't been called anything but irritating in a long time."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Oh, for…</em> he rolled his eyes, and Hunk shot him a small smirk that he probably deserved.</p>
<p>Looking between them, Allura could easily detect their unease. And who could blame them? They were strangers to this planet, and that went both ways… she gave a small bow of her head. "I know that it's a huge thing, having our Great Lions ask for your help. I'm incredibly grateful that you've accepted."</p>
<p>Coran's request-slash-threat went through Hunk's mind again. He wanted to reassure her—to promise they'd rock this lion thing—but it still felt a bit early to be making promises like that. So instead he gave a helpless shrug. "We don't even have magic on Earth, yeah? This is a heck of a learning curve, but…" He looked over at Sven, who nodded in agreement. "We're gonna do our best."</p>
<p>He felt completely safe promising <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>"Thank you." The princess smiled again. "If there is anything I can do to help, let me know."</p>
<p>Looking at Sven again, Hunk abruptly wondered why <em>he</em> was the one carrying this discussion. The diplomatic Viking was <em>right there</em>, and in the meantime he'd spent most of the mission proving that he shouldn't talk to aliens without adult supervision. But…</p>
<p>
  <em>"The Earth is the foundation."</em>
</p>
<p>Maybe he <em>was</em> starting to get it.</p>
<p>He'd barely finished the thought when a gust of wind slammed into him, strong enough to make him stumble back a step. His eyes glowed, and didn't <em>just</em> glow—for an instant he could've sworn the yellow cast of light was dancing around him, like leaves…</p>
<p>
  <em>What the fuzzmuffins?!</em>
</p>
<p>Next to him, Sven's eyes glowed as well, and he felt the rustle of the wind… though it seemed like Hunk had been hit with something more. "Um…" It wasn't exactly a question, but it wasn't <em>not</em> a question.</p>
<p>Allura looked between them, and closed her eyes for a moment. She'd felt something herself—not a physical sensation, precisely, but an intuition. Black Lion's low growl confirmed it. The winds danced again to an unheard song, and they were another step closer…</p>
<p>Hunk shook his head, trying to clear it, and found himself looking at the last few traces of grill smoke. It told him what he'd already known, instinctively; the gust he'd felt hadn't been <em>real</em>. Which could only mean one thing. His eyes went to the distant forest, leaves rippling beneath a soft breeze, and a word seemed to simply appear in his mind. A name?</p>
<p>"…Windseeker…"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <i>*Eeeesh. We’re so sorry for the sudden extended hiatus but uh, Things Happened.<br/>Short version: the person who herds the cats got sick.<br/>Longer version: ..and after four months of doctors and tests still doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. But she’s at least able to deal with her symptoms a lot better now, so we’re back in business!<br/>We are going to switch to a biweekly schedule for a bit, at least until real life gets its shit a little more together. Fingers crossed for that to be sooner rather than later.</i>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Damages Done</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once again, Pidge found himself following a banewolf through the forest. It seemed much less strange than the last time. And that was strange in itself, given that now he had a robot lion in his head and his eyes were occasionally <em>glowing… </em>perhaps a monster wolf guiding him to a key of some sort just couldn't compete.</p>
<p>"So, are we supposed to be teammates now? Something along those lines?"</p>
<p>The wolf yipped and nuzzled his side.</p>
<p>"I'll take that as a yes." His vision flickered green for a moment. "Jalekya… <em>why</em> is this happening, again?"</p>
<p><em>"The Bonds are in an unstable state,"</em> Green Lion answered matter-of-factly. <em>"It should fade as the Pride becomes whole."</em></p>
<p>Pidge raised an eyebrow. "Should?"</p>
<p>Now Green paused. <em>"There is much I cannot tell you, Windseeker. Our sleep has been long."</em></p>
<p>"That's reassuring."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I do not particularly like it either."</em>
</p>
<p>That, he decided, was the most relatable thing the lion had said to him yet—despite or perhaps <em>because of</em> her penchant for sifting through feelings he didn't know he had. "And if I ask <em>why</em> you've been asleep for so long?" He didn't really expect that to get him anywhere either, but it seemed like he ought to try.</p>
<p><em>"…Something went wrong,"</em> the lion said slowly. <em>"We were hidden… I cannot remember."</em></p>
<p><em>Something went wrong.</em> Hunk had said that after his bonding, too. The reason the lions needed them, the reason they'd been hidden away to begin with, it all came back to that infuriatingly vague statement. "Okay." He had more questions, <em>many</em> more. As his guide jumped a small stream, he found a fallen log to cross and opted for one of the more general ones. "Tell me about the banewolves?"</p>
<p>To his surprise, he could feel her seriously considering that question. <em>"The Banes of the Forest were not always what they have become. As we slept, suppressed and unbonded, our energies leaked out into our surroundings. The winds are tied inextricably to the powers of life… much within this forest now bears traces of my influence. Little was intentional."</em></p>
<p>Pidge blinked, another old Baltan mantra returning to him. <em>Tazenya kaidaren… the wind is life</em>. And she'd known the medical term for his condition, <em>and</em> said he wasn't the first ninja she'd ever bonded to… he was starting to have suspicions. Varetya had been fleeing persecution on Balto for much longer than they'd been part of the Alliance, and Arus was in the same general region of space.</p>
<p><em>"Yes,"</em> the lion confirmed. <em>"You are not the first Shinori I have met. But more than that, I cannot be sure of."</em></p>
<p>"More than I expected," he muttered, and moved on. The ground cover was getting heavier here, forcing him to push large branches and shrubs aside to keep pace with his canine companion. "Anything else you can tell me?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"A broad question…"</em>
</p>
<p>"And not an answer."</p>
<p>He thought she might have sighed. Did magical cat spaceships sigh?</p>
<p>
  <em>"We do occasionally find cause to."</em>
</p>
<p>The banewolf suddenly halted, snuffling softly and pushing its head up against the thick undergrowth. Pidge frowned and refocused. "What's wrong?" Kneeling, he picked up a small rock and tossed it ahead; he heard it crash through some leaves and fall to the ground without apparent incident. "This is where you stop, I guess?"</p>
<p>Yip. <em>Fair enough.</em> He took a deep breath and pushed his way into the bushes, half expecting something to go horribly wrong the moment he stepped through. But it didn't. Everything seemed perfectly normal—his eyes glowed, as if to mock that thought—and somehow that just put him more on edge.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why in the three hells did you agree to this? Really…</em>
</p>
<p>After a few more steps, he abruptly realized the sounds of the forest were nearly gone. The wind still whistled above him, but the chirps and flutters and small footsteps he'd become accustomed to were nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>
  <em>Not a surprise, right? Even the banewolf didn't want to come in here, what else would?</em>
</p>
<p>It wasn't unsettling at <em>all</em>.</p>
<p>And then he pushed one last fern aside, and broke into a clearing that could not be natural.</p>
<p>The first thing he noticed was the structure—that was the only word for it, really. It wasn't a complete building of any sort. Just a skeletal framework covered by thick, creeping vines. The second thing was the wall, a foot-high barrier of dried mud that ran around the clearing and kept the undergrowth at bay.</p>
<p>The third and most unsettling realization was that the structure was not, in fact, the only skeletal thing in the clearing. There were <em>actual skeletons</em>. Some humanoid and some not; he would've bet nearly anything that the quadrupedal ones were banewolves.</p>
<p>"What in all three hells?" he whispered.</p>
<p><em>"Be wary, Windseeker."</em> Green Lion might actually have sounded nervous. <em>"This place is tainted."</em></p>
<p>That was a word for it, no doubt. "Thanks for the warning." With a great deal of wariness indeed, he stepped forward.</p>
<p>The clearing was smaller than Green's den, though not by too much. The ground was covered in what first looked like dry, pale soil, but it didn't feel right… he knelt and touched it. <em>Ash</em>. Had a stray shot from the Drule bombardment struck here? But that wouldn't explain the wall, nor Green's agitation. And the overgrowth was too thick for whatever had done this to be so recent.</p>
<p>Picking his way around the skeletons—there were probably half a dozen humanoid, and twice that for the banewolves—he reached the obvious focal point of the clearing. He couldn't tell exactly what the structural framework was made of, but he could see notches that told him there had once been proper walls. Had they been wood? Whatever had burned through this place would surely have taken care of <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Circling it, he found a smaller opening that he guessed had once been the actual doorway of the structure. Partly that was because of the differences in the framework, and part of it was because of the banewolf skeleton lying in the ash. Wincing slightly, he went in a different way.</p>
<p>The interior was not much different than the exterior: the same spread of ash and crawling vines. Poking around in the ash, he couldn't find any trace of artificial flooring having been here. In fact, the only feature remaining on the inside at all was a stone pedestal in the center.</p>
<p><em>Some kind of shrine?</em> Between some patches of creeping vines he saw indentations where a statue might once have been secured, but now there were only a few traces of ash. Or was that all? Taking a second look, he thought there were symbols carved into it, and reached down to brush the vines aside.</p>
<p>The instant his fingers touched the stone, a shrieking wind tore through the clearing. He heard shouting in what sounded like Arusian, and the howls and snarls of banewolves, and Green roared as blinding light filled the structure. He had a bizarre sensation of heat—not feeling it himself but <em>knowing</em> it was there, filling the clearing, and being vaguely aware that things were disintegrating around him…</p>
<p>And then, as swiftly as it had begun, it was over.</p>
<p>Pidge stumbled back, trying to catch his breath. "What. The hells. Was that?!"</p>
<p><em>"…I almost remember it now</em>." Green growled in frustration. <em>"The wolves interfered…"</em></p>
<p>"Interfered with what?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I don't… know."</em>
</p>
<p>Pidge did not recall either of the others mentioning cryptic memory fragments being involved in this process—then again, he hadn't really asked Sven, and hadn't Hunk said something about escaping a giant snake? He wondered if that was better or worse. Right now, he wanted nothing more to do with the pedestal; he stood and looked around the small chamber. "Okay. Was it this key I'm looking for that they interfered with? Because if I don't have to be here anymore, I don't <em>want</em> to be."</p>
<p><em>"The key is there. I can feel it near you. But it is not meant…" </em>Another growl. <em>"Something has gone very wrong."</em></p>
<p>"Yeah, you've said." Looking around one more time, Pidge felt certain more than <em>something</em> had gone wrong. But right now he just wanted to find the damned key and leave…</p>
<p><em>The wolves interfered</em>.</p>
<p>Sudden inspiration—or perhaps realization—hit him, and he turned back to the doorway. The skeleton. And as his eyes flashed green, he <em>felt</em> it.</p>
<p>Gently easing the dead banewolf's jaw open, he found a segmented silver-white disc. An arrow-like sigil was etched into it; he recognized the symbol. Green had an identical sigil on her shoulder. This had to be what he'd come for.</p>
<p><em>"Yes,"</em> the lion confirmed. <em>"Now get out of there, Windseeker. I do not like it."</em></p>
<p>She didn't have to tell him twice.</p>
<p>"Zalet take you," he murmured to the skeleton, though he knew it was silly. Everything in this clearing had been dead for a very long time. Still, it felt like someone ought to acknowledge what the banewolves had done here.</p>
<p>Whatever they had done here.</p>
<p>Casting one last look back at the pedestal, Pidge hurriedly left the clearing.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith was still on edge from his talk with Coran and Sarial, and somehow equally on edge with the suspicion that his lion disapproved of how he'd handled it. The Lion of Storms…</p>
<p>
  <em>"You must walk the path at your own pace."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh. Or that was reassuring, he supposed.</p>
<p>
  <em>"But you know that the time is short."</em>
</p>
<p>Less reassuring.</p>
<p>He didn't have time to try to puzzle it out, because his first instinct had been to try to command… no. To <em>lead</em>. To that end, he was heading back to the <em>Falcon</em>, where he'd asked Vince and Romelle to meet him. Because his talk with Daniel had just gone <em>so well</em>, why not try more of them?</p>
<p>He took one last look out at the castle and mountains before entering.</p>
<p>Vince was already waiting in the rec room, more than a little nervous. On one hand, he was very glad to be away from that awkward scene in the tunnels. On the other, being summoned to talk to the Commander just didn't seem to bode well. It felt kind of like being called to the principal's office, and he tried to shake that off, because Keith was at least nicer than any of the principals he'd ever had.</p>
<p>As if on cue, he walked in and smiled. "Hi, Vince."</p>
<p>"Hi…"</p>
<p>The engineer looked tense. "Have a seat," Keith instructed, dropping into one himself. "And relax."</p>
<p>Relax! As if that were ever one of his strong points. "Uh, sure, right on that." He sank onto the couch and swallowed hard.</p>
<p>Somehow Keith had known that wouldn't work. "It's alright, Vince. Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to check in with you. See how you're doing, how you're feeling about…" He shrugged and gestured widely.</p>
<p>"Oh. …Oh." <em>How</em> do <em>you feel?</em> "Well, um, I don't really know." He hadn't really expected that to be enough, and from the encouraging nod it got him, it was clear he needed to continue. How, though? "Was there something specific about the," he waved his hand through the air in a similar manner to what Keith had done, "you were asking about, sir?"</p>
<p>No, there really hadn't been—or at least, he'd been hoping Vince might <em>volunteer</em> something specific. He felt the lion growling softly and once again felt very judged. Nobody had ever forewarned him about the burdens of command including mythical presences giving commentary in his head.</p>
<p>The growl he got in response to <em>that</em> felt slightly more like a protest than a reproach, really.</p>
<p>"Your thoughts on this whole lion thing," he said finally. "Those of us hearing them aren't the only team members that matter. I wanted to hear your take on the situation."</p>
<p>Now the growl sounded approving.</p>
<p>"Oh." Vince frowned. Did he have thoughts on the lion thing? Other than… "Well, I'm relieved I don't have a lion in my head. It seems disconcerting and, well, weird? I just watched Lance <em>feel</em> his way to these tunnels, which by the way had some <em>really</em> interesting shuttles, so maybe there are some perks to being here—" <em>You're babbling</em>. "—but I mean, I'm the sparks guy. And ghosts now. The lion thing is confusing and I'm already confused enough, so I'm just letting you people sort it."</p>
<p>Well. Apparently he had, indeed, had thoughts.</p>
<p>Looking at Keith, who was just staring and trying to process what all had just been launched at him, he shrank back into the couch a little. <em>That was unhelpful, Vince.</em></p>
<p>Keith wouldn't have gone that far, but it was a lot to unpack. "Okay, let's start with the perks." Positivity, that was important. "Tell me more?"</p>
<p>"Oh, well maybe 'perk' was a bit of an exaggeration." Then again, maybe not. He hadn't had a lot of time to look around. "But those shuttles were intriguing, the tech looked so <em>different</em>. And I guess that's part of the lion thing, since it was in the tunnels Lance was doing the weird lion thing to find…" It occurred to him that <em>weird lion thing</em> was pretty broad but then, it was about where they were at here.</p>
<p>Remembering the shuttles himself, Keith nodded. "Yeah, I—" Immediately he felt a low grumble from the lion, and he grimaced. They knew about the tunnels now! But clearly he was still supposed to pretend that he didn't, so he sighed. Couldn't really object to some minor lying after what he'd told Coran. "—I can imagine. Okay, and weighing against the perks? I know you have reasons to want to go—"</p>
<p>"—GHOSTS," Vince interrupted. "And ghosts, and ghosts!" Then he sighed; that wasn't real helpful either. "I mean, I miss my moms too, I want to get back eventually. But the Arusians seem nice, and I knew I'd be away from home a lot on this mission. Just GHOSTS."</p>
<p>Right. Keith leaned towards him, just a little. His only experience with ghosts was still a handful of bizarre incidents back on the <em>Vesuvius</em>—it felt like so long ago now—which had either been the result of a cursed nameplate made with ash from Pompeii, an unlucky relic from a previous ship with the name, or a few techs who got into the alcohol more than necessary. He'd never known which side he came down on, personally, but that experience had not prepared him for <em>this</em> either way. "What can you tell me about them?"</p>
<p>"Uh, nope." <em>That wasn't a yes or no question.</em> "I mean uh, I don't know much, I haven't stuck around to talk to any." Now that he thought about it, was it weird that he hadn't seen any in the castle? Whatever, he'd take it. "I'll leave that to Romelle, she seems like the expert." He was not in any hurry to test the advice she'd given him on the subject.</p>
<p>Keith nodded slowly. "Must be unsettling, then."</p>
<p>"They're ghosts, isn't unsettling implied?"</p>
<p>"I suppose. Never seen a ghost or horror film," telling Vince that was sure to get him less grief than certain <em>other</em> people, "and the supposed ghost on my old ship never came after me personally, so I'm no expert."</p>
<p>A ghost on his old ship? <em>Explorer Teams aren't the </em>only <em>crews that end up in the middle of weird, good to know.</em> "Well, I don't recommend being personally haunted."</p>
<p>"I will take that under advisement," Keith promised with a grin, and was gratified when Vince visibly relaxed… slightly. But for him, slightly was still pretty good.</p>
<p>The lion in his mind purred.</p>
<p>Romelle chose that moment to enter; she immediately felt she ought to have chosen a different one. "Oh, um. I can… wait?"</p>
<p>"No, it's alright." Keith waved her in. "Come join us." She nodded and walked in, smiling at Vince, who waved back. "I was just asking Vince how he is, and what he thinks about what's going on here. I'd like to hear your thoughts too."</p>
<p>Truthfully, Vince was none too sure he'd <em>answered</em> anything. Then again, under the circumstances he'd probably done as well as could be expected. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention and have to try to babble some more, so he stayed quiet and watched Romelle.</p>
<p>For her part, being asked the question at all was more surprising than its specifics. She was not particularly used to her opinions mattering to those few who'd held authority over her—not to her father, and <em>certainly</em> not to the Drules. Once again, the thought that she was part of this team was gratifying.</p>
<p>And a little terrifying.</p>
<p>"I suppose I'm alright," she said slowly, feeling her way. "Feeling awkward, given who I am and my people's history, but…" Really the Arusians had mostly been shockingly accepting of her, but she'd still only met a few. Somehow she was pretty sure that was no accident.</p>
<p>"Do you not want us to tell them you're a princess?" Vince asked. "I noticed you didn't tell Coran, but there hasn't been much chance to ask…"</p>
<p>Romelle blinked. Had that just been days ago? It felt like so much had happened. "It's not really a secret, I suppose? The Princess knows, and I told Lady Larmina…" Frown. "Though I'm not even fully sure why I did that."</p>
<p>Whatever she said about it not being a secret, her tone did not exactly say she wanted it getting out further. "Well, I still won't spill it to anyone."</p>
<p>"Thank you." She offered him another small smile. "I'm just not sure how to proceed… it's probably best to be cautious. There are sure to be those who'd react badly."</p>
<p>Nodding, Vince looked back at Keith. The problems Romelle was having seemed to have much more gravity than his own; it felt like they were more of what the commander wanted to hear about. Probably. Maybe?</p>
<p>"Good idea," Keith agreed. He still liked caution, on the rare occasions they got to exercise any of it. "How are you feeling about staying here longer?"</p>
<p>Wincing, Romelle thought back to her talk with Allura. "That I'm not sure of, Keith." Or was she? "I know that I can't go home. Maybe not ever. But I have nowhere else to go either…" Allura had said Arus could be a home for her. But she was realizing, if that happened, it wouldn't be because of Arus itself. "So I'm here with all of you, so long as you'll have me."</p>
<p>Keith and Vince exchanged uncomfortable looks of their own. What she'd said made sense, of course… "Then you're with us," the commander said firmly, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry you had to be in this position, though."</p>
<p>"Don't." She shook her head. "It was my choice, and I have to live with it."</p>
<p>"It still sucks," Vince said, eyeing her. He couldn't imagine not even having the <em>option</em> to go home—well, he supposed, it was more he couldn't imagine not having a home to go back to. Right now the thought of <em>options</em> was pretty academic. But at least the thought was there. He reached over and gave her hand a reassuring pat, then remembered <em>princess!</em> and pulled back. "…And I'm sorry too."</p>
<p>"It does… suck," she agreed, deciding this wasn't the time to ask about Common slang. "Thank you, Vince. You have a good heart."</p>
<p>He blushed furiously, but managed a grin. Keith grinned too; it was good to see them getting along. Then he leaned forward and looked between them. "Thank you both. I'm not sure what the future is going to hold for all of us, but…"</p>
<p><em>I need </em>everyone's <em>thoughts. We're all we have.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Thus is the nature of a Pride."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Huh?</em> He felt a slight shiver run up his spine, but the lion did not elaborate. And somehow he felt even less sure of the future, if more sure he was doing what had to be done…</p>
<p>"Seems like situation normal," Vince pointed out with a small shrug.</p>
<p>The commander couldn't help but chuckle, pushing his unease aside. <em>More than you know.</em> "Yeah."</p>
<p>Romelle felt it might be time to mention at least some of what Allura had said. "For what it's worth, the Princess seems to hope the whole team can stay. And she invited me to do so, specifically."</p>
<p>Oh. Vince swallowed hard, feeling a bit of guilt creeping into his tone. "I do <em>want</em> to go home. You know, eventually." <em>What if I'm the only one who wants to leave? </em>That thought made him hedge. "I get that it's not really possible yet, but…"</p>
<p>"As soon as it is, I'll do everything I can to get you there, Vince. You and anyone else who still wants to go home." Keith looked away so they wouldn't see him biting his lip for a moment. He still didn't even know where this was leading those <em>with</em> lions. He hated the thought that taking care of his team might result in some of them leaving. But he did have a responsibility to everyone here, and his own thoughts didn't matter.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do they not?"</em>
</p>
<p>Oh, not again. <em>My duty has to come first.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Admirable. But much has yet to be revealed…"</em>
</p>
<p>He didn't see what help that was, but decided to take some comfort in it nonetheless. The situation certainly was <em>fluid</em>. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he decided, sounding more confident than he felt.</p>
<p>To his surprise, Vince seemed perfectly happy with that. "Good plan, sir. Not to have one, I mean, we're not very good at them."</p>
<p>"That's the way this mission started," Keith agreed. "May as well keep with it."</p>
<p>"We are an… Explorer Team?" Romelle offered, drawing <em>looks</em> from the other two. She blushed immediately; a second later, they both burst into laughter.</p>
<p>"Exactly!"</p>
<p>"That we most certainly <em>are."</em></p>
<p>For now, they still had their team. And as the Lion of Storms purred in his mind, Keith decided that for now it was enough.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Patience had never been Lance's strong point. It was so much worse now. There was a stupid wall of rock between himself and the fucking lion in his head, and just the knowledge that it was <em>there</em> had him antsy and frustrated even as he was working on fixing the problem.</p>
<p>On the plus side, Hunk had been more than happy to help. He'd siphoned a bit of the <em>Falcon's</em> fuel—unlike the <em>Bolt</em>, it carried some that was combustible—and fashioned a crude but workable set of small charges with it. He was a little concerned, truthfully… underground demolition with materials he wasn't very familiar with? Not the best. But he wouldn't write it off until he'd had a look, especially with how agitated Lance seemed.</p>
<p>"Ready?"</p>
<p>He was finishing up his last materials check. It was as good as it was going to get. "Think so."</p>
<p>Lance nodded. "Right, so…" He wanted to run back to the tunnels at top speed, but something was nagging at him. And suddenly it sank in. "Fuck!"</p>
<p>The big engineer's eyebrow shot up. "Uh, that's <em>not</em> why you invited me?"</p>
<p>Snort. "Dude, you're cute, but you're strictly in the bro category."</p>
<p>"I <em>am</em> the cute one, bro." Hunk gave his brightest grin.</p>
<p>True enough, and going any further on that topic would lead to places Lance did <em>not</em> want to be. Not to mention there was one very specific place he did want to be, and he wasn't fucking there, and—"No, it's just that I want to go blow this hole in the rock and all, but we should um… probably not blow up another part of an already blown up castle without running it by someone?"</p>
<p>"…You're just thinkin' of that now?"</p>
<p>"I'm in a hurry, alright, Glowstick? Not all of us have met our lions."</p>
<p>The last thing Hunk had been in to first meet his own lion was a <em>hurry</em>, so he couldn't exactly relate. "I'm totally callin' you Glowtorch if you go through with this." He expected his own eyes to glow right there, just because it would be fitting, but they did not.</p>
<p>Lance snorted again. "Fair. I'm totally going through with it…" He considered that a moment, then sighed. "I'm 90% certain I'm going through with it."</p>
<p>"I was 99% sure I wasn't, so…" Hunk shook his head. "Let's go find someone to get permission from and see how it goes for ya, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Fuck yeah." Sigh. "I just need to find out the truth of all this, you know? Actually <em>meet</em> this fucker in my head."</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know." <em>Now </em>that <em>sounds familiar</em></p>
<p><em>"Extremely,"</em> Yellow agreed.</p>
<p><em>"Fucker?"</em> the Lion of Flame questioned, and Lance startled.</p>
<p>
  <em>Have you not gotten used to that yet?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"We're both getting acquainted."</em>
</p>
<p>Oh, sure they were. That only made another rush of impatience run through him, and he turned back to Hunk. "Alright, let's get <em>moving</em> already. Who do we want to find?"</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged. "Someone with glowy cheeks, I ain't particular. Thinkin' the Princess or advisor dude are our best bet, though."</p>
<p>"I'm not picky either," Lance agreed. "Mustache Dude is cool too, but the Princess is probably best."</p>
<p>"Probably. It's her castle, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah." Lance sighed. "I'd really rather be helping her rebuild it than blowing more holes in the place, but…" As they started into the winding corridors, a more immediate problem presented itself. "Any idea where to look?" He didn't think his magical tunnel-finding sense was going to help them find a princess.</p>
<p>Hunk considered that, then shook his head. "You'd think we'd come up with a better way to make contact."</p>
<p>"You'd think."</p>
<p>The many holes in the castle did have one 'helpful' feature at the moment: there were a lot of places the princess could <em>not</em> be. Though after what felt to Lance like surely an hour of wandering, that was no real consolation.</p>
<p>"This is taking too long!"</p>
<p>They'd actually been at it for maybe ten minutes; Hunk side-eyed him and said the first thing that came to mind. "The Earth is patient." Hadn't he said that already today? Wait.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh for—now you've got me doin' it!</em>
</p>
<p>"…Your lion is creepy."</p>
<p>"Ain't wrong."</p>
<p><em>"I can hear you, Earthwarder."</em> Though Yellow was also chuckling.</p>
<p><em>Mine feels like a grief counselor half the time</em>. Though Lance felt like that was probably better than creepy. They didn't need any more <em>creepy</em> in their lives.</p>
<p>Rounding another corner, they heard squeaking, and found what appeared to be Princess Allura talking to a large pinkish mouse.</p>
<p>Hunk blinked. "Um…"</p>
<p>"Is this Disney?" Lance whispered.</p>
<p>"Ain't puttin' anything past it right now, but…"</p>
<p>"Well we do talk to robot lions, if it's fair for anyone to judge…"</p>
<p>"Yeah, could be." The big guy frowned slightly, then elbowed him. <em>"You</em> talk to 'er." He was still a little on edge from earlier.</p>
<p>"Ow!"</p>
<p>Allura hadn't heard any of what was going on on the other end of the hallway. She was entirely focused on negotiations. A few supply caches had gone missing during the second evacuation, and the mice were the best-suited to track them down. But Cheddar was driving an unusually hard bargain about it; something about more mice to tend to.</p>
<p>"How about this," she offered, giving a winning smile that would hopefully mask her frustration. "A bonus proportional to the size of whichever supplies you find?"</p>
<p>Finally, the mouse agreed, and she sighed in relief as he scurried off. It would be worth it if they found even one of the caches—but she never knew when the mice were going to volunteer and when they were going to bargain, and she wasn't especially amused.</p>
<p>The sound of someone at the end of the hallway was welcome. "Princess?"</p>
<p>Turning, she saw Lance and Hunk giving her slightly confused looks. "Yes?"</p>
<p>Lance reflexively put on one of his most charming smiles. "Um, I'm not quite sure how to put this, but I have a huge favor to ask you, and I'm aware it's quite early in our relationship for that," the smile broadened, "but it's where we are."</p>
<p>Now she was the one giving him a questioning eyebrow-raise; Hunk bit back a snicker. Though his eyes glowed a moment later, as if to remind him <em>he</em> had nothing to be snickering about right now.</p>
<p>Neither of them seemed inclined to bail the pilot out, and he tried to elaborate without actually saying the word <em>explosives</em>. "I mean, um, as you know your lions have been talking to us, calling to us? But I've hit a bit of a literal roadblock getting to mine."</p>
<p>Oh. Allura swallowed down a reflexive moment of panic. She knew <em>which</em> of the Great Lions was talking to this Earthling; the one without much in the way of possible alternate routes. "Roadblock?"</p>
<p>Damn it, he wasn't going to avoid the word. Lance sighed. "I need Hunk to do some explosive demolition, is that alright?"</p>
<p>"I'm an expert!" Hunk promised cheerfully.</p>
<p>"…Where?" Now the way Lance had been trying to avoid the question made perfect sense.</p>
<p>"Oh, um. The tunnels under the castle, you know…"</p>
<p>That was exactly what she'd hoped he wouldn't say. "Something happened to Red's tunnel?" she echoed softly.</p>
<p>"Red?" He'd known that, now that she said it like that, he supposed. <em>That metal.</em> "Yeah, there's a pile of rocks, some kind of cave-in blocking the way to the volcano." He did not like the look on her face. It was telling him there was no alternate door.</p>
<p>"How bad is it?" <em>Oh, please don't be a total collapse.</em> They were so close, <em>too</em> close. Even a full collapse of the underground section would take time they didn't have to clear out. If the other part of the passage had been damaged…</p>
<p>"Not really sure. Hunk will be able to tell you more once he sees it." In fact the big guy had already expressed doubt about a full collapse—that was the sort of thing they'd likely have noticed from above—but he couldn't be sure, so they both left it unsaid. "From what I could tell though, it's just in my way."</p>
<p>"We need it to be clear," she said half to herself, then looked up and nodded at both of them. "If you think you can clear it, yes. Whatever it takes to gain access."</p>
<p>"FUCKING <em>GREAT!"</em> Lance yelled, and Hunk nearly jumped out of his skin.</p>
<p>"Bro!"</p>
<p>"What? Sorry, I'm excited, okay? Let's go!" He spun around, then turned back to wink over his shoulder. "I'd apologize for the language, Princess, but I'm gonna do it again—"</p>
<p>"—He will <em>totally</em> do it again, believe 'im—"</p>
<p>"—But you want to come see us bust through some rocks?"</p>
<p>"Okay…" Allura blushed. She was unfamiliar with the word he was apologizing for, but may as well accept it nonetheless. Did she want to see them clear the tunnel, though?</p>
<p>That wasn't even a <em>question</em>. She turned to follow.</p>
<p>Another thought had occurred to Hunk in the meantime. He really did not know what was up with the animals on this planet, but if vultures could teach him to set fires with cactus flowers… "Actually, Princess. Were you uh, talkin' to that mouse earlier?"</p>
<p>"Ah, yes I was." She noted Lance's impatient look at his teammate. "Why do you ask?"</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged. "Is all the local wildlife as helpful as some of it? If we've only gotta start with tiny holes to see what's goin' on with this cave-in, it'll be a lot easier."</p>
<p>Lance, who had in fact opened his mouth to protest talking about <em>mice</em> right now, snapped it shut. <em>Oh</em>.</p>
<p>"Oh!" That did make sense. "I may be able to get a few to help." Looking back down the hallway, she whistled for any mice who might be willing to volunteer.</p>
<p>Emphasis on <em>volunteer</em>.</p>
<p>"Whatever works," Lance muttered, shifting uneasily.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Patience. I am not going anywhere."</em>
</p>
<p>Right. That was for sure. Sighing, he tried to chill out, but he was just not feeling the <em>waiting</em> for even a moment longer. He knew where to go, they had permission to blast their way through, he wanted to <em>move</em>. But maybe mice now would mean less time when they got there…</p>
<p>Motion from the ceiling caught his eye, and a trio of blue and purple mice darted down to Allura.</p>
<p>"…They're cute," he whistled, a little surprised. He hadn't gotten a very good look at the last one. <em>Think I'm partial to the salalizards, though</em>.</p>
<p><em>"My familiars </em>are <em>quite special."</em></p>
<p>"They <em>are</em>." Hunk practically squealed it.</p>
<p>
  <em>"My feathery companions also enjoy mice."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>WHOA, too much info, dude!</em></p>
<p>"Let's see." Allura grinned and looked over the mice who'd arrived. "We have Sprocket, Cog, and Spork volunteering."</p>
<p><em>Really?</em> Lance couldn't help but crack a grin. "Spork is a <em>great</em> name."</p>
<p>The purple mouse squeaked happily, Lance winked at it, and Allura giggled. "He says thank you. Shall we?"</p>
<p>"Totally shall," Hunk agreed, then turned back to Lance. <em>He</em> didn't actually know where these tunnels were—the advantages, or otherwise, of his lion being easier to access. "Lead on, bro."</p>
<p>"Fucking finally!" The pilot broke into a sprint, leaving Hunk to bellow after him.</p>
<p>"Bro, I'm NOT RUNNIN' WITH THE BOMBS!"</p>
<p>Lance slowed down. Slightly. But it didn't really last, and he found himself speeding up again as they got closer.</p>
<p>Hunk found himself just following Allura, at a more <em>reasonable</em> pace.</p>
<p>Finally Lance did slow down, walking into the tunnels and feeling a sense of awe all over again. This whole room really was so <em>much</em>. Once he'd finally met this lion, he might want at least a look at those shuttles too… he paced until the others caught up, then headed for the tunnel where he'd felt the warmth. "This one. It's down a ways."</p>
<p>"Good thing I didn't hafta go through here," Hunk muttered as he passed by the shuttles. "I wouldn't have made it through…" He really wanted to stop for an hour or two, but was equally sure Lance wouldn't let him.</p>
<p>He sure as fuck wasn't stopping, but he was amused. "That's what Vince did."</p>
<p>"Kid's got good taste!"</p>
<p>Allura giggled.</p>
<p>It was a pretty long way through the tunnel, and somehow it felt even longer this time. Maybe because earlier he'd been running. Maybe just because his last hints of patience were gone. In any case, when Lance finally reached the cave-in, he glared at the rocks as if he could just <em>scare</em> them into clearing a path. "What do you think, Hunk?"</p>
<p>"I think… it's a lot of rocks," the bomb tech muttered, and moved forward. He was immediately certain it wasn't a full collapse, at least; the tunnel walls were intact. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness he was getting a better sense of things, and the news was at least mostly good. "It's localized. See, the reinforcement up there is cracked." He pointed at the ceiling, where a couple of framing beams had snapped. "But I can't tell how far back it…" He trailed off as his eyes glowed. And didn't stop. "Uh."</p>
<p>
  <em>Yellow, this ain't helpful!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Focus."</em>
</p>
<p>Focus? Sure, if he said so. "I think my lion wants me to do a lion thing." Taking a shallow breath, Hunk stepped forward, putting his hand on the broken rock and focusing. He was very aware of the tunnel—the dirt and stone all around them—the pile of rocks inviting him to feel, to see, to <em>sense…</em></p>
<p>Allura took a step forward too, catching her breath as she watched. Even Lance's impatience took a momentary back seat to the awesomeness, if also weirdness, of the moment. "Huh…?"</p>
<p>"…Holy fuzzmuffins!" Hunk sprang back, staring at the rocks as he realized what had just happened. Maybe. His eyes stopped glowing and he looked to the other two, trying to find words for it. "Uh, so the Earth is patient, and also like eight feet thick right here." He heard Yellow purring and decided not to even comment on that; instead he looked at the charges he'd brought. "It's doable, but we're gonna hafta pull a lot out by hand after the bombs loosen it up."</p>
<p>"Whatever it fucking takes, I'll move every fucking rock if I have to." Lance meant it wholeheartedly. "…Also, that was <em>fucking awesome</em>, dude."</p>
<p>"I'd go with 'creepy' again, but…" He grinned slightly. He'd just <em>felt where the rocks were.</em> "It <em>was</em> kinda cool. Okay, you two stand back, yeah? Let's get this party started."</p>
<p>"Just let me know exactly where." Allura did not have a great deal of experience with explosions, and what she <em>had</em> had been decidedly hostile.</p>
<p>"Give it about fifty feet. Blast wave'll bounce around a lot down here. Won't be much, but better safe than shockwaved, yeah?" He checked a few of the smaller rocks, making sure not to pull anything out that was currently holding the pile up, but making a small hole he could fit one of the charges in.</p>
<p>With a nod, Allura backed up a bit further, and whispered a warning to the mice to cover their ears.</p>
<p>"Watching him do his kaboom thing should be fun," Lance commented as he moved back to join her. Immediately he was fidgeting; he needed to take his mind off the waiting. "So do all Arusians have a mice affinity?"</p>
<p>"No… just me, really." <em>Anymore</em>. The princess scratched Cog behind the ears. "The space mice have lived in the castle for a long time. There weren't many others my age about while I was growing up, so I learned to speak to the mice instead." Only Tanner had shared that particular secret skill with her.</p>
<p>"That's impressive," Lance said, and she shifted from the memories to a grin. "Looks like it's a mutually beneficial relationship."</p>
<p>If only he <em>knew</em> how beneficial, at times. Even before the Drules came, the mice had gotten her out of a lot of trouble. "Very much so."</p>
<p>He was fidgeting again, and definitely didn't want her to think it was <em>her</em>. "Sorry if I'm a bit… focused. I just really want to meet this lion."</p>
<p>Now her grin was stirred by memory. Lance really wasn't unlike her brother, as reactions to the Great Lions went. "I can understand. I've always wanted so badly to see them awaken…" That, too, had been true long before any Drule had set foot on Arus.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I think I do too."</p>
<p>The conversation was cut off as Hunk finished his work on the cave-in. "Heads down, blowin' up!" He turned and ran for the others as they ducked, but before he reached them a muffled <em>boom</em> washed through the tunnel. The dust cloud caught up with him; he stumbled out a few seconds later, coughing a couple of times. Then he chuckled. "Welp, that went okay."</p>
<p>"We good?" Lance asked, looking up again.</p>
<p>"So far, so good, bro." Hunk turned to look at the pile of rocks, and blinked. A fair amount of dust was still settling, but he could see hints of a red-orange glow penetrating through the much-reduced cave-in. "Whoa…"</p>
<p>Lance saw it too, and felt the warmth of the lion—the Lion of Flame, the <em>Red Lion</em>—curling around him. Moving closer to the stone, he found a gap just big enough to look through, and what he saw on the other side filled him with a whole new wave of awe. "Holy fucking magma."</p>
<p>"I hope the windows are intact," Allura said worriedly. If they were this close, they weren't in the clear yet.</p>
<p>"Windows?" Hunk echoed.</p>
<p>"I once visited here, long ago." Most of her father's research had centered on the Black Lion, for various reasons, but she had seen them all. "I remember passing the windows and loving the warm glow they gave off."</p>
<p>Windows. Glowing windows. Magma. He looked from her to Lance. "…You're kiddin'."</p>
<p>"Not a bit, dude." Lance was still looking through the small hole, transfixed. "Just… <em>whoa</em>."</p>
<p>Hunk moved closer. It didn't feel any warmer to him, and the convection from <em>exposed magma</em> would damn well be having some effects by now. Which could only mean one thing… <em>they built tunnels through MAGMA!</em></p>
<p>Suddenly the shuttles weren't the most interesting thing down here anymore.</p>
<p>"So uh, Princess? Can the mice, uh…?"</p>
<p>She nodded, looking down at their volunteers. "Go see if the tunnel beyond is safe and clear." With a few dutiful squeaks, they scurried through the gaps in the stone.</p>
<p>Watching them, Lance was struck by the overwhelming sense of… <em>hugeness</em>. Looking back at Hunk and catching his eyes glowing only intensified it. What he'd already done, what Lance was thinking of <em>doing…</em> it was so big. So much bigger than someone like him should be part of, wasn't it?</p>
<p>
  <em>"I will judge that, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>He gulped and fought down a wave of nervous dizziness. <em>Well that just sounds ominous.</em></p>
<p>Once the mice were through, Allura approached the cave-in and started moving some of the loose rocks aside. There was still quite a bit to do, may as well get started. And actually being able to give concrete help was exciting. There was no <em>nudging</em> to do here—Lance knew what he needed to know. He just had to get through the barrier.</p>
<p>Blinking, Hunk tore his eyes away from the distant glow to see the princess, the <em>princess</em>, starting to haul rocks around. <em>I am the </em>worst <em>knight</em>. He quickly moved to help, as Yellow growled in amusement. Allura noticed his sheepish look and grinned in return; if it were her first time seeing this, she'd have been frozen in awe for a bit too.</p>
<p>Lance still was, his heart pounding in his ears, but gradually he became aware that the other two were moving rocks around him. <em>Oh. Shit</em>. He joined in, throwing himself into it with all the energy he had. Which was… less than he'd have preferred, by now, but he was <em>this close</em>.</p>
<p>They'd been at it for just a couple of minutes when one of the blue mice popped its head through a hole; it chittered something that sounded somehow businesslike. "Cog says the windows are safe," Allura translated. "The others are inspecting the far end."</p>
<p>"That is <em>awesome</em>." Hunk wasn't quite sure if he meant magma tunnels or mouse communication. Probably both, really. But especially <em>magma tunnels</em>.</p>
<p>"Way awesome," Lance agreed, though his voice was fading a little. He felt sweaty and his muscles were a little twitchy; he didn't think it was just from the rock moving. Maybe it wasn't from the rock moving at all. Because the more they worked, as an actual <em>opening</em> began to appear where the cave-in had been, the more scarily real everything felt.</p>
<p>The lion felt so strong in his mind now, almost close enough to touch. Why was he locking up <em>now?</em></p>
<p>A few squeaks echoed down the tunnel as the other mice made their return. "The tunnel looks to have had a few good shakes," the princess relayed as they squeaked their reports. "But nothing else gave way."</p>
<p>"Perfect," Hunk said with a nod. "Should mean everything at risk already fell." Even if the bombardment had left any nasty surprises, the charges he'd set off almost certainly would have knocked them loose. He looked up at the large gash in the ceiling, then at the mess they'd made of the floor; the way was clear, but they had a whole lot of rocks stacked along the sides for about twenty feet back down the tunnel.</p>
<p>Next to him, Allura followed his gaze and offered a smile. "After all this time, not bad."</p>
<p>He grinned back, then looked up at the bright, fiery glow that stretched into the distance. "I'll say…" Though his teammate's silence was a little worrying. Turning, he saw Lance just staring blankly ahead. "You okay, bro?"</p>
<p>The pilot barely heard him, but managed to shake his head slightly. "Think I'm stunned."</p>
<p>"I hear that." Hunk stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>"You would know, yeah." Lance shook himself a little. <em>Come on, flyboy</em>. The thought made him flinch slightly, but it brought him a little bit back to awareness, too. "Guess from here on out I'm on my own though, huh?"</p>
<p>Allura just nodded. Yet again she was wishing there was more help she could offer, but she had to believe. Like Romelle had said… it was no time to have doubts <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>"Yeah. It's your show now." Hunk hesitated as Lance swallowed hard. It was weird, for it to be like this… knowing for certain where he was going. They'd never seen someone off to their lion before. Everyone else had just kind of wandered their way there. "You've got this, bro," he assured him, squeezing his shoulder a little tighter.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Lance nodded, and tapped into all the reserves of bravado he had. "Fuck yeah I do. Thanks for the assist, man." He winked. "And you, Princess."</p>
<p>Allura smiled. And she very nearly said <em>may the Great Lions guide you</em>, before realizing it would be just a <em>bit</em> superfluous in this situation. She settled for something less formal. "Good luck."</p>
<p>He chuckled nervously and turned away. "I do got this," he murmured to himself, then raised his voice. "I'm gonna go meet a robot lion." With another steadying breath, he started to walk down the tunnel.</p>
<p>Hunk watched him go, then decided it was an excellent time for a distraction. "Princess, while he's doin' that, you know of anything we could use to get these rocks all the way outta this tunnel? I mean, assumin' you want these shuttles to work again any time soon." Most of those rocks they'd stacked up were now very much blocking the tracks.</p>
<p>"I'm not sure," Allura admitted, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But let's go back and check the main chamber, there may be something."</p>
<p>"Works for me!" Nodding, he took one last look down the tunnel. Lance was disappearing around a gentle curve, with one of the mice scampering behind him. There was nothing more he could do for him now but have faith…</p>
<p>He smiled weakly to himself, and followed Allura back. It wasn't feeling as strange anymore.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Upon returning from the expedition beneath the castle, Daniel had returned his now-sleeping salalizards to the <em>Falcon</em> and gone looking for some other way to occupy his time. Having been promised—with anyone else he'd have used the word <em>threatened</em>—an actual talk, avoiding Lance was once again at the top of his priority list.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Sarial was willing to provide him with a mission objective. So it wasn't that he was wandering aimlessly around the castle grounds; he was patrolling the perimeter. Responsibly. Like a good militia member, which definitely wasn't weird at all.</p>
<p>He hadn't anticipated actually coming across anything while he was at it, but when a glimpse of motion appeared on the horizon he went to check it out nonetheless. It didn't seem like a renewed Drule assault would come from that direction, anyway.</p>
<p>What he found was Pidge, gripping something in his hands and looking wholly unaware of his surroundings, and that <em>was</em> weird. Because <em>ninja</em>.</p>
<p>"Pidge! You okay?"</p>
<p>"Ra vara…" He blinked as he looked up, then seemed to realize he wasn't speaking English. "Um, I think so?"</p>
<p>Daniel did not think that was accurate, somehow. "What's wrong?"</p>
<p>The ninja struggled for words for another moment, and had very nearly found some when his eyes glowed green. <em>Oh. Guess that takes care of it.</em></p>
<p>"…Oh." It certainly did take care of it. Daniel swallowed hard. "Uh… how's the lion?" He desperately wanted to just run away from this conversation right now, before it started, but that wouldn't be <em>nice</em>.</p>
<p>Pidge, too, really wanted to bolt in the other direction; he was still thrown from the shrine. But just running off did not seem to fit the whole 'being with his Pride' thing, not to mention it would just be <em>rude</em>. So he finally went with, "Confusing."</p>
<p>"Seems like it would be." Not the word he'd have used for all this bullshit. "You seemed really disoriented."</p>
<p>With a small, helpless shrug, Pidge showed him the key. "I had to get this thing…" …<em>from a weird forest shrine that even freaked my lion out?</em> He heard Green's agitated growl and decided he didn't want to go there. "…I'd rather have had to fight angry wildlife like Hunk."</p>
<p>Daniel snorted. "What did you have to do?"</p>
<p>"…Nothing you want to hear about." <em>Nothing I want to talk about</em>, <em>either</em>.</p>
<p>He was right, and the gunner sure as hell wasn't going to push. "Anything I would want to hear about?"</p>
<p>"Probably not." Another weak shrug. "You don't like any of this, kir sa tye?" Even he had, in fact, noticed that.</p>
<p>"I…" Daniel hesitated. No, he didn't. Though it wasn't the weird itself he had an issue with. It was just him being left <em>out</em> of the weird. The weird leaving him <em>behind</em>, taking away his… "…Nothing you want to hear about."</p>
<p><em>Probably not</em>. Pidge stared at him quietly. He was supposed to say something helpful here, wasn't he? With Daniel he'd even managed that once, a small victory he had no idea how to replicate…</p>
<p>What finally came out of his mouth was, "I don't know why the hells it's <em>like</em> this."</p>
<p>Daniel tilted his head. "Like what?"</p>
<p>"Why I have…" The words wouldn't come. They probably wouldn't help anyway.</p>
<p>
  <em>"It is still only beginning."</em>
</p>
<p>He startled, eyes glowing faintly. <em>Hells is that supposed to mean?</em> But Green said nothing else, and he shook his head in frustration. None of this was any use to his teammate, he was sure. "I should go."</p>
<p>But Daniel was actually curious now, despite himself. So he shook his head too. "What?"</p>
<p>"Well I'm apparently supposed to be the 'Paladin of Loyalty' when I can still barely have a human conversation with my team half the time." That had not been what he was grasping for, but the frustration was out and he rolled with it. "I don't know what I'm doing when I don't have orders to follow. I don't know why I have a lion and you don't, I'm not even a <em>pilot</em>. None of this is… logical."</p>
<p>
  <em>Was that supposed to help?</em>
</p>
<p>It had happened at about the word <em>pilot</em>. Daniel was frozen. His stomach was twisting, his mouth was open but words weren't coming out, and yet he felt eerily calm. He was going to lose his shit. He <em>knew</em> he was going to lose his shit. Losing his shit at the ninja would be, what was the word? <em>Suboptimal</em>.</p>
<p><em>I don't think that helped.</em> Pidge took a step back, feeling his hand going for his knife, and made a conscious effort to pull it back.</p>
<p>Then Daniel turned and ran for it. And Pidge, who'd been only half a step from doing the same thing, suddenly understood him more than ever.</p>
<p>"Mijtairra."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Sven was trying to be proactive. If he was going to be staying on Arus—and at least in the short term, they were clearly not going anywhere—he should begin to acquire a working knowledge of the Arusian language. The librarian seemed like the place to start.</p>
<p>"Thank you for helping me," he said as he followed Captain Sarial through the tunnels. He was impressed by their intricacy; the last time he'd been here had apparently only been a transportation tunnel. The shelters may have been nearly forgotten before the Drules came, but whoever had originally designed them had done a thorough job of it.</p>
<p>"I'm glad to be of help." That was certainly true. The offworlders remained the most <em>interesting</em> thing to happen to Arus in a long time—and far more agreeable than the interesting thing that had preceded them.</p>
<p>Sven smiled back, taking note as they rounded a particularly craggy bit of the tunnel wall. "Who or what are we looking for again?"</p>
<p>"Books, in theory. Though Lady Hys is currently in possession of the books." He didn't visibly react, so clearly he hadn't met her. "She's the royal governess and castle… chief of staff, I think you would say?"</p>
<p>"Ah. Sounds like quite a woman." Was this going to be that lady Lance couldn't charm?</p>
<p>Sarial was able to mostly keep her expression in check. "She is formidable."</p>
<p>…Oh dear. <em>Wonderful</em>. Sven began mentally prepping his best diplomatic mask. And suddenly he was very aware of Blue Lion's presence, though she didn't actually say anything… he was reminded of Allura's description earlier.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is that you settling in to watch? Do you need popcorn?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"I don't know what you mean, Icehunter. …And what is popcorn?"</em>
</p>
<p>No. No, he would not be explaining popcorn to a giant sentient cat ship. Not today.</p>
<p>Glancing back, Sarial noted his expression and grimaced. Maybe she had been a little uncharitable. "She's very proud, but she does and means well for our people." Proper courtly sensibilities and militia sensibilities simply did not <em>mesh</em>. "We're almost there."</p>
<p>That still sounded like he needed the diplomatic mask. "Good."</p>
<p>Sure enough, a couple of quick turns brought them to a small side chamber. Sarial knocked on a wooden panel, then stepped into the entryway; there wasn't exactly a door. "Lady Hys, we…" She trailed off and blinked as her eyes went from the startled governess to her student.</p>
<p>Since her last lesson—and punishment—had been interrupted, Larmina had the Arusian dictionary on her head again. Nanny had been quizzing her on Common, so the Captain's arrival was helpful in more than one respect; what in the five hells was an <em>irregardless?</em> She shot Sarial her best <em>save me</em> look and hoped the militia had something for her to do.</p>
<p>Nanny wasn't nearly so happy with their visitor. "Ach, Captain, we are busy!"</p>
<p>Sven didn't understand whatever had just been said, but he understood the shrill tone and poked his head around the corner. "I'm sorry, Lady Hys. It's my fault. I was hoping to learn some Arusian." Her eyebrows shot up as a broad grin split Larmina's face, and he retreated into his most formal and endearing smile. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Sven Holgersson, one of the Earthlings who arrived recently."</p>
<p>As if she couldn't have gathered that much on her own. "A pleasure, Mr. Holgersson." Clearly she had been robbed of introducing herself properly, but it was a recoverable faux pas, she supposed.</p>
<p>Less recoverable was Sarial walking into the room, clearly exasperated. "Lady Hys, I'm sure you know Lady Larmina is an important asset to the militia. We require her to be in good physical condition, and I'm certain the strain you're putting on her neck muscles now has some worthy purpose, <em>but…"</em> She'd had the decency to keep that lecture to Arusian; retrieving the dictionary from Larmina's head, she switched to Common. "Also, we will need this."</p>
<p>Nanny sputtered. Sarial had no authority to overrule her on the matter of Larmina—then again, Nanny had no authority to overrule the Captain regarding the militia. It was a complication. Then she looked back at the Earthling, who had a look of earnest sincerity on his face. "Of… of course." She curtsied. "I would welcome some of our visitors wishing to be educated. In fact, you're welcome to join our lesson right now, if you wish; Lady Larmina is advanced enough for us to hold instruction in Common."</p>
<p>"I would love to." Giving a small bow—maybe more just a little lean in—Sven gestured to the dictionary. "Forgive me, though. Is that some sort of Arusian teaching technique? How does it aid in the learning of language?" He was very careful not to let any of the sarcasm in his head slip into his curious tone. This was something he had <em>experience</em> with… and this woman was a type he'd encountered before. Oh yes she was.</p>
<p>Larmina bit back a snicker; Blue was not hiding her amusement at <em>all</em>. His vision went blue for an instant as well, but it seemed to go unnoticed. Maybe Arusians didn't find that unusual, he mused, thinking about Allura's healing again.</p>
<p>Or maybe they were just focused on other things. Like his very polite questions!</p>
<p>"…The young Lady requires training in her posture," Nanny huffed, "as well as your language. I assure you, you needn't go through similar lessons. Though if you would <em>like</em> to, we have many other heavy books." She, too, managed to keep her voice devoid of sarcasm. Sarcasm was improper. A bit of pity, though, was surely appropriate.</p>
<p>"I'd rather not, but if you think it's necessary I'll gladly do it." Sven didn't like her, and found himself wishing Jace were here… for the obvious reasons, and now also the comedic value. He pushed it aside. "I had to go through similar lessons as a child."</p>
<p>Spoons had not, in fact, been the <em>only</em> thing he'd learned about at finishing school.</p>
<p>"Hmm." Lady Hys walked over and paced around him, sizing him up with a critical eye. His posture was flawless. "Perhaps you do have some hope."</p>
<p>He was very glad when she backed off; he'd felt very much like a piece of meat. Though he was definitely going to rub that <em>you have hope</em> in Lance's face at some point.</p>
<p>For now, he looked up as Sarial approached, still carrying the dictionary. "I should be going." She lowered her voice to a whisper, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I see you'll be able to handle her."</p>
<p>Oh, would he. Sven smiled. "Thank you for escorting me, Captain."</p>
<p>She nodded. "I'll entrust Larmina with escorting you back out when you're finished… with Lady Hys' permission, of course."</p>
<p>Nanny huffed again; that was precisely the sort of thing she couldn't actually overrule. "Very well, LADY Larmina may do so."</p>
<p>As Sarial left, Larmina lost her grip on what sliver of discipline she'd been holding onto. "Nanny, this is Earthling I told you about!"</p>
<p>…<em>What</em>. Jaw working soundlessly, the governess looked from Sven to Larmina and back again.</p>
<p>One of his eyebrows had shot up. "Oh? What have you been telling her about me?" He had a pretty strong suspicion.</p>
<p>Sure enough, she smiled brightly, and decided to take a shot at impressing him. "You're a very good teacher."</p>
<p>Nanny's eyes narrowed. Had Lady Larmina just used the indefinite article correctly? In <em>these</em> of all circumstances? Of course she had. <em>Oh, Honored Mother</em>. And now she'd been roped into teaching this Earthling as well, and the Princess would be very displeased if she failed in her assumed duties…</p>
<p>"Thank you, Miss Lar—I'm sorry, Lady Larmina." Sven's gracious tone had not wavered yet. "I do aim to be at least very good in everything I do." <em>Cursing damn well included.</em></p>
<p>And there was the disapproving purr, though it was a little less convincing when accompanied by the robot lion equivalent of a snicker.</p>
<p>That was enough of that, Nanny decided. "Well, have a seat, Mr. Holgersson. We are working on vocabulary today."</p>
<p>The seats in the makeshift classroom were simple wooden stools; he sat next to Larmina. "Yes ma'am."</p>
<p>"Our next word will be <em>hooligan."</em></p>
<p>Really? Somehow even after Lance's report, he hadn't been ready to hear that word, and especially not in Lady Hys' haughty tone. "I haven't heard that term in years," he commented innocently. Just trying to help, like a good offworlder. "It's quite outdated within modern Common English. 'Delinquent' or 'troublemaker' would be more up to date terms."</p>
<p>Nanny's eyes bugged out as Larmina desperately tried—without much success—to stifle her laughter. "All <em>very</em> useful words, Mr. Holgersson, YES."</p>
<p>Should he twist the knife? Of course he should twist the knife. Keith had told him their civilian ruse was done for, so there was no reason not to…</p>
<p>
  <em>"And you wondered why I named you as I did."</em>
</p>
<p>His raised eyebrow at Blue's comment had the side effect of making him look all that much more earnest when he spoke. "Actually, I'm sorry to correct you, Lady Hys. But my proper title is Lieutenant Holgersson."</p>
<p>He wasn't sorry.</p>
<p>Nanny made a noise that was not unlike a mortally wounded roli. "Of course. Lieutenant Holgersson. My apologies." She cleared her throat loudly, trying to drown out Larmina's hysterical giggling. "NOW. Hooligan, delinquent, troublemaker: all acceptable translations for 'hapcyn'." <em>As is Lieutenant Holgersson, clearly. </em>"Perhaps our guest would demonstrate its use in a proper sentence for us?"</p>
<p>"Of course," Sven agreed, clearing his own throat slightly for effect. "The Earthling hoped that his small corrections of his host's Common did not make him seem like too much of a troublemaker."</p>
<p>As Blue purred with laughter in his mind, he glanced over at Larmina—who was doing a <em>very</em> poor job of hiding her own amusement—and flashed her a quick smile. She returned it as best she could without completely bursting into giggles again. No need for them both to end up with books on their heads.</p>
<p>Some of these offworlders really weren't so bad after all.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Daniel ran for a long time with no clear destination. His mind was too preoccupied with Pidge and his stupid—</p>
<p>
  <em>I don’t know why I have a lion and you don’t. I’m not even a pilot.</em>
</p>
<p>The implication being that Daniel should have a lion because he <em>was</em> a pilot. But he wasn’t, not really. It was his dream job, sure. What he'd primarily been trained for, yes. But the Alliance hadn't wanted him as a standard pilot, or needed him to pilot for an Explorer Team. Lance didn’t think he was trained enough. Now even some sentient magical <em>robot cat</em> was telling him he wasn’t good enough.</p>
<p>No, that wasn’t right. <em>Five</em> sentient robot cats were telling him he wasn’t good enough. Though with Keith and Lance he understood, hell, he even kinda got them choosing Sven, but Hunk and Pidge? So not only was he not good enough compared to the teammates who were pilots, he was a worse option than the two who openly <em>admitted</em> that they <em>weren't</em>.</p>
<p>Rage continued to build up inside him, and running wasn’t helping. And if it wasn’t helping why the fuck was he still doing it? He came to a stop and looked around for some sort of distraction to make his brain shut up. There was a small stream, a fairly large tree, and a shit-ton of grass around him; none of it was distraction worthy. Daniel supposed in a different frame of mind, he might have found it serene.</p>
<p>Now it was just infuriating.</p>
<p>He hadn't even wanted a fucking lion! He’d been so focused on how he was going to lose his little make-shift military family that it hadn’t occurred to him that he was being <em>denied</em> something. Something that he had wanted since before he could remember. It wasn’t <em>fair</em>—of course it wasn't, when had his life ever been fair?</p>
<p>But he really didn’t want to be part of this magical bullshit. Did he? His first choice would be that <em>none</em> of them were a part of it, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. They were all connected to it except him. Even Vince had <em>something</em>. Apparently he was the one team member unworthy of such crap.</p>
<p>Didn’t that just fit?</p>
<p>He wanted to go home. But he couldn't very well do that without an actual home to go back to… and it was becoming more and more clear to him that he didn't <em>have</em> one.</p>
<p>Looking around again, Daniel’s eyes were unconsciously drawn to the traces of smoke from the volcano far in the distance. The <em>fucking</em> volcano. He could imagine lava bubbling beneath the ground, waiting to burst through the surface and burn everything. Burning everything sounded great to him. Rage and adrenaline collided into one another, and Daniel erupted.</p>
<p>Screaming, he lashed out at the closest thing to him, which happened to be the tree. Small pieces of bark began flying as he struck the tree’s trunk over and over with all his strength until his anger slowly began to subside.</p>
<p>Slipping to his knees, breathing hard, he gave a humorless laugh. This was great. Perfect even. That had been by <em>far</em> one of his most spectacular outbursts. He was exhausted, his hands hurt, he was drenched in sweat, he was 70% sure that some of the salty liquid on his face were tears, the tree was bleeding—</p>
<p>—<em>Wait, what?</em></p>
<p>Narrowing his eyes, he looked up and analyzed the damage. It certainly looked like it was bleeding, but examining it a little closer he realized it was actually his own blood on the trunk. <em>Fuck</em>. His adrenaline and anger fading seemed to back that up, because he was becoming excruciatingly aware that Arusian casts weren’t made to be repeatedly smashed against hard surfaces.</p>
<p>He groaned; he'd almost certainly made his slowly healing fracture worse again, and may or may not have added a few broken fingers to the mix. Both of his hands were bleeding, they probably needed stitches. Snorting, he turned to lean back against the tree. <em>Absolutely fucking perfect.</em> That it had taken a matter of <em>days</em> to fuck up the arm he'd promised to let heal was just insult to literal injury at this point.</p>
<p>Tears started welling up again, and he squeezed his eyes shut to force them back. As he pressed his back against the bloodstained tree bark, he felt a grim chuckle in his throat that turned into a ragged sob. It all just figured, didn't it?</p>
<p><em>Fuck</em>.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Lance was making progress, but not as quickly as he would have expected. Every step seemed to take twice the effort of the one before. By now he was moving even slower than the little purple mouse that had decided to join him; whenever it got too far ahead, it would turn around and start squeaking. Was it supposed to be encouragement? Lance wasn't sure, but he probably appreciated it. He turned his head away from the windows—he kept staring at them, how could he not?—and looked down at the mouse.</p>
<p>"Spork, right?"</p>
<p>Squeak.</p>
<p>He nodded and looked back at the windows. "That's <em>magma…</em>" He slowed to a stop, just staring again. After a beat he felt a nudge of a tiny rodent head against his leg; he looked down. "I've been running toward this for days. Why am I slowing down now?"</p>
<p><em>"You know the answer,"</em> the lion said in his mind.</p>
<p>Lance took a breath, feeling echoes of the metal beneath his fingertips. "The Princess called you Red."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Hmm, yes. That is one of my names."</em>
</p>
<p>"One? How many names do you have?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"At least two. Do you not, cub?"</em>
</p>
<p><em>Flyboy</em> flew through his mind again, and he'd been called it a million times by a million different people, but it was only one voice that mattered. One person who had meant something by it, someone that made Lance feel special.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Names are power, cub."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Cub</em>. He hesitated. "Yet you've never used mine."</p>
<p>
  <em>"That is so… but perhaps I'm waiting."</em>
</p>
<p><em>What does that mean?</em> Lance looked behind him and startled at just how far he'd walked, much further than he'd realized. He looked ahead. There was no end in sight; his legs and arms felt heavy and his heart felt…</p>
<p>"I'm not doubting this."</p>
<p><em>"No,"</em> Red said.</p>
<p>"I'm just…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Your impulsiveness charged you ahead this far. But now is the time to truly face the weight of the questions."</em>
</p>
<p>"Questions?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"When we meet. You will know them as I speak them."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance tried to puzzle that out, and found himself fighting a yawn. He couldn't be tired now. He'd driven himself so hard to get here, he <em>couldn't </em>stop now!</p>
<p>Yet he was fading.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Perhaps your mind and body do need rest first, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>He did not need <em>rest</em>. He needed to reach this lion. He needed the answers, or the questions, or… with his next step he nearly stumbled, and growled in frustration.</p>
<p>Warmth curled around him. The tunnels seemed to go forever, and the glow of the magma was strangely comforting. He sank slowly to his knees, breathing it all in.</p>
<p><em>Just a little further</em>.</p>
<p>Could he really meet the Lion of Flame in this state? Did he dare? His mind was fuzzy, his body was on the edge, and his heart was pounding in his throat. Whatever the hell he was approaching, he had to be ready.</p>
<p>Maybe just a short rest.</p>
<p>He nodded at that and pulled off his jacket, settling it behind him like a pillow as he leaned against the tunnel wall, facing the magma through the windows. Feeling the awe—that what looked like only a thin pane of glass was between him and the magma that flowed beneath the surface of Arus. It was bigger than his brain could compute, all of this was. He'd been too busy racing towards it to really think about it. No wonder he felt so stunned as it began to sink in…</p>
<p>Exhaling slowly, he noticed Spork was still by his feet, and grinned. "Wanna stay with me?" He swore the mouse nodded. "Alright… think I could use the company."</p>
<p>Spork ran up onto his lap with a squeak.</p>
<p>Shaking his head a bit, he patted the mouse's soft fur and told himself he just needed a few minutes. But soon the exhaustion from lifting rocks, from going full bore all this time, and most of all from the shock and the scope of everything wrapped around him.</p>
<p>With the magma's warm glow surrounding him, Lance fell asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The Knight of the Flame</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lance hadn't known what time it was when he forged ahead into the tunnels. Impatience giving way to exhaustion had a way of skewing perceptions. He'd certainly had no way of knowing that by the time he actually gave in and passed out, it had been nearly midnight.</p>
<p>What he knew, for the moment, was that succumbing to sleep had been a mistake.</p>
<p>—It had been a beautiful Beau Terre day, one of the cloudless days his mother always sang about. It meant only one thing to Lance; it was the perfect kind of day to go flying with his father. And that—not being stuck inside, playing a dumb flying <em>simulation</em> game with his little brother—was precisely what he was going to do.</p>
<p>He was already a good distance from their house when he heard his sister Charlotte shouting his name, over and over, demanding that he stop. He tried to speed up, to get further away so he could later claim he didn't hear her. But his sister was fast and kept up. Finally he gave up, turning and groaning more when saw her boyfriend Cooper behind her, following her like a lost puppy. It was gross.</p>
<p>"What?" His tone was both exasperated, and attempting to play a little stupid.</p>
<p>"You're supposed to be watching Drew."</p>
<p>Oh was he? "<em>You're</em> supposed to be watching both of us, not playing kissy face."</p>
<p>Glare. "And <em>I </em>told you to watch Drew."</p>
<p>"That's not fair."</p>
<p>She shrugged. "Just go back home."</p>
<p>"No. Drew’s annoying me with that dumb flying game, I'd rather <em>really</em> fly, and only other thing he wants to do is chase those dumb toads by the pond. IT IS BORING."</p>
<p>Charlie was not impressed by his argument. "Well, he's too young to be home on his own. Go home."</p>
<p>Lance wasn't impressed by hers, either. "I wanna fly!"</p>
<p>"Dad isn't even going to let you. He'll just send you home, so you may as well—"</p>
<p>"—No, he won't!" He crossed his arms and pouted. "He said as long as I finish all my chores and all my homework I can fly." The promise of flight <em>was</em> the most reliable way to ensure Lance got anything done.</p>
<p>"Tomorrow, not today."</p>
<p>"Today. He'll let me. You can watch Drew."</p>
<p>"I'm older, I'm in charge, <em>you</em> are watching Drew."</p>
<p>Lance stomped his feet and pouted more. "No."</p>
<p>"You're such a little—"</p>
<p>The loud <em>boom</em> of a spacecraft hitting the atmosphere drowned out her yell, and they both jumped and turned toward the sound. It was followed by a series of smaller booms, a large spacecraft looming up in the air and fighters coming toward the surface at top speeds.</p>
<p>Lance stared at them, mouth agape, trying to identify the configurations. He knew every Alliance ship a civilian could learn about, and even a few Drule. But he didn’t recognize <em>these</em> and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.</p>
<p><em>Something is wrong</em>.</p>
<p>Argument forgotten, he looked to his sister for reassurance. "Charlie?"</p>
<p>She was staring at the ships, her skin pale, then looked back at him with wide eyes. "I don't…"</p>
<p>Another <em>boom</em> in the distance, and Charlotte grabbed him close. That hadn't been a ship arriving. That had been an explosion, and Lance's heart rabbited in his chest as he saw smoke rising on the horizon. <em>That was the airfield, wasn't it, that was the airfield…</em></p>
<p>"Dad…"</p>
<p>Charlotte tightened her arms around him as the shadows of fighter craft passed over them, and these he recognized: the colony's Fractal squadron streaking into battle. Then more explosions; he felt her shaking and then they were flying through the air, the ground flinging them aside as something impacted nearby. Lance hit the ground hard, scraping his elbows and hands, Charlotte covering him with her body until the shaking stopped.</p>
<p>"Okay," she breathed as she lifted her head, "I think—" But she didn't get any further than that before she turned and screamed. Lance followed her gaze and nearly choked—he'd forgotten Cooper was there, and now he was sprawled lifeless on the ground where they'd been moments before. But he didn't have long to look; his sister grabbed him by the shoulders and bent down to his eye level. He'd never seen her look so scared or so <em>serious</em> in his life…</p>
<p>The sound of destruction raged all around them.</p>
<p>"Lance, go to the shelter, the one we’re supposed to go to during the dust storms." She was talking very fast, visibly holding down the panic. "I want you to run there. I want to run and not look back. Go now."</p>
<p>"But what about you?" He looked from her to the distant column of smoke. "Daddy…"</p>
<p>"I’m going to get Drew, Lance. I have to go get Drew. Dad…" She swallowed, looking at the smoke. "Dad will have gone to the same shelter. Mom's at the terraforming station, she'll be alright. Just go, go there <em>now."</em></p>
<p>"No, I’ll go with you to get Drew," he yelled, fear making his voice go high. "I should go with you." They couldn't separate, they <em>couldn't</em>, something inside of him was screaming it.</p>
<p>"No! Damn it, Lance, please just <em>listen</em> to me for once! You have to run there <em>now</em>. Please. Go."</p>
<p>"But Charlie—"</p>
<p>"—Do as I say, go to the shelter, <em>do it</em> and don’t fucking look back!"</p>
<p>Another explosion rocked the ground before he could argue any more, and they tumbled roughly to the side again and now there was a hole in the ground where Cooper's body had been, where <em>they</em> had been just minutes before. Charlotte let out another anguished scream, turned to him and shoved him hard in the direction of the storm shelter.</p>
<p>"GET TO THE SHELTER. GO NOW, LANCE. GO!"</p>
<p>Lance ran then, ran as fast as he could, amazed he could even hear the explosions over the pounding of his heart in his ears. Stumbling through the colony's suddenly-cratered outskirts he kept wondering if Charlotte had gotten home yet, if she had Drew—they'd left him alone. <em>He'd</em> left him alone. He wiped at his face, he couldn't see, he was crying too hard but the fear in Charlie's demand kept him running…</p>
<p>Finally he'd fallen onto the heavy doors of the shelter, fallen again as he struggled to get them open and stagger inside, and one more time as he looked around and saw no one else was there.</p>
<p>
  <em>No one else was there.</em>
</p>
<p>He was just first, he'd thought, and dared to peek out of the entrance until one of the unknown fighter craft passed overhead. Then he slammed the doors shut and was plunged into darkness, but he could still hear explosion after explosion…</p>
<p>He shook harder with each one. Weren't they ever going to stop?</p>
<p>Staring at the door through the darkness, he counted the explosions and waited and hoped. <em>Charlie, Dad, Drew… come on, get here, come </em>on<em>!</em></p>
<p>But the door only opened one more time. Two men he didn't know climbed inside, covered in dirt and blood. Both of them wounded, both of them looking as petrified as Lance felt…</p>
<p>And he just kept staring at the door, willing his family to appear, but the explosions finally tapered off and no one else came in. After what felt like forever the two men had dared to leave, and he'd followed them into a hellscape. Scorched and cratered ground, burning buildings, and little sign of human life…</p>
<p>Only twelve citizens of the Alliance colony of Beau Terre had survived. And Lance, at eleven years old, was the only surviving member of his family.—</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Serenity was in short supply on Arus anymore, and Coran had learned to take any fleeting moment he could to keep himself calm and focused. The morning found him standing on the castle's parade balcony, watching the sunrise with a mug of cooled vehka brew, letting it remind him of better times and—</p>
<p>"Lord Coran!"</p>
<p>—That wasn't part of the plan.</p>
<p>Sipping his drink, he turned to see the royal governess in the doorway. "Lady Hys. Good morning." It would take much more than this to disrupt his mindset.</p>
<p>"Good morning." She gave a low bow, timed perfectly for their comparative stations, of course. "I hope I'm not intruding."</p>
<p>"Of course not." His cup had been nearly empty, anyway. "How may I be of assistance?"</p>
<p>She took a couple of steps onto the balcony, wringing her hands in her skirt. "You… you have this situation with the alien… troublemakers under control, yes?"</p>
<p><em>Troublemakers</em> had come out with a huff that he suspected was significant, not that it mattered either way. "As much as I can in our current circumstance," he said with a sigh. The <em>circumstance</em> he was referring to wasn't even the Drule invasion, though that didn't help either. "The Princess has a much clearer view of the situation than I."</p>
<p>Well, that hadn't been the unequivocal yes Nanny was hoping for. She sighed also, approaching the railing and wrinkling her nose. She had every faith in Princess Allura, but the young royal <em>was</em> given to the occasional flight of fancy. Growing up she'd even claimed to talk to <em>mice</em>. But to express such worries unbidden would be a horrid lapse in protocol…</p>
<p>Fortunately—perhaps—Coran could see just fine that he hadn't alleviated her concern in the slightest. And he supposed he ought to try. "Is there anything in particular, other than their simply being here, that bothers you?"</p>
<p>"The Princess said she foresaw them arriving, and expects them to save us." And that was much of what worried her, <em>hooliganism</em> aside. Had the fall of Arus broken her dear Princess after all? Or was something concrete at play? "I just want to know what's really going on."</p>
<p>The old knight studied her carefully for a moment, and decided there was no point in lying. Lady Hys was rather <em>high-strung</em>, but she was no fool. To express anything adjacent to doubt in the Crown meant she was distressed indeed. "I understand your frustration, but I'm afraid I cannot divulge that information as of yet. But from what I've seen, I don't think she's wrong."</p>
<p>A little too trusting, too quickly? Perhaps. But not <em>wrong</em>.</p>
<p>Nanny nodded, then realized what she was nodding at and gave another frustrated huff. "And at what cost? They're such… <em>ruffians</em>."</p>
<p><em>Oh, honestly</em>. Coran took the last sip of his vehka brew, and chose his words carefully. "They are certainly a little rough around the edges, but they seem like honorable people. But if you have another plan to save Arus from the impending Drule attack, please share it with me?"</p>
<p>"Of course, I—I didn't mean…" She made a face. When he put it that way it was true enough, but still. "I only worry for what will come of us, being forced to rely on one band of aliens to save us from another." That came closer to a valid concern, and he was about to say so when she added, "That they're so very ill-mannered does not make me <em>less</em> worried."</p>
<p>"Lady…" He sighed, again. "We relied on ourselves when the first invasion arrived, and it did us little good. Perhaps relying on these strangers will improve our chances this time, or perhaps not. I don't know. What I <em>do</em> know is that doing the same thing as before, except from a far weaker position, will not work."</p>
<p>"Must we simply believe in them blindly, then? One of them is already being a <em>very</em> poor influence on Lady Larmina, who hardly needs more such influences." She could immediately see Coran was not impressed by that complaint, and her expression softened slightly. "I worry for our Princess and our planet. If they can deliver us from the Drules so be it, but can I not hope there might be something left of what was?"</p>
<p>"We are not just trusting them blindly. I am gathering as much information as—" Coran paused. He didn't answer to her, and continuing down this path wasn't going to be helpful. "Lady Hys. We have the situation as much under control as we possibly can. My concern is that we <em>survive</em> for people like you to worry about what once was. If we all die or become enslaved, the old ways will not matter."</p>
<p>That wasn't particularly reassuring, but it was not particularly refutable either. "…Yes. Yes, I suppose that's true." Then she brightened a little. Of course he was right. This was <em>her</em> responsibility. "So perhaps once the danger looming us over us all is lessened, they might even be able to learn some manners."</p>
<p>Oh dear. "I'm sure," <em>that nothing of the sort will happen,</em> "that with your tutelage anything is possible."</p>
<p>"Lieutenant Holgersson has already shown an interest in learning our language." Even the memory of that debacle couldn't ruin her sudden optimism. "Perhaps I could prepare a few small primer texts for them, on our language and culture? To help them settle in." Her mind was already racing on what to include. Basic court protocols, of course…</p>
<p>Though he had a feeling the cultural aspects of such a project wouldn't be the ones <em>he'd</em> have chosen, Coran wasn't about to shoot down her new eagerness. And the rest would be helpful. "I think that would be greatly appreciated, Lady Hys. They're likely to be here for some time; it's best they get acquainted with our language."</p>
<p>"I'll get right to work, then." She turned to depart the balcony, then looked back at him. "…I may have my doubts, but I <em>will</em> do my best to aid our world and our people, Lord Coran. Whatever must be done for Arus."</p>
<p>He raised his empty cup slightly in acknowledgment. "I've never doubted that, Lady Hys." With that, she hurried off, and he took one last long breath. At least the day's work had started out simple enough.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Larmina approached the offworlder ship hesitantly. It was weird. She'd seen Arusian ships, and more Drule ones than she'd ever wanted to, but this one hardly resembled either… well, spacecraft weren't her specialty or her problem. At the moment, the castle was her problem. Specifically, showing a few of the offworlders around the castle; she'd put it off as long as she could.</p>
<p>Sven had promised to be there, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Apparently he liked maps.</p>
<p>Three of them were waiting for her at the bottom of the ship's boarding ramp. She smiled at Sven, nodded to Romelle, and gave Pidge a <em>why are you here</em> look before putting on her most businesslike expression. "This everyone?"</p>
<p>Pidge, who was there mostly because he felt guilty about having run off to the forest when he should've been helping scout the <em>first</em> time, made a face and wished for about the millionth time that his chameleon suit's stealth worked. Romelle gave him a small smile she hoped was reassuring. She was a bit on edge herself, though also excited for a proper tour of the legendary castle.</p>
<p>"Yes." Sven returned Larmina's smile, <em>willing</em> his eyes not to flash. Which they promptly did, naturally. He had something pencil-like that Daniel had found on the <em>Falcon</em>, and several sheets of something that wasn't exactly paper that he'd secured from Lady Hys to practice the Arusian alphabet. "Where are we headed first?"</p>
<p>Motioning for them to follow, Larmina started to lead them around the moat. "Half the castle is the rubble. Will start there."</p>
<p>Making a note on that, Sven hid another smile—Lady Hys' concerns about his bad influence aside, he thought he'd had a breakthrough with Larmina regarding the word 'the'. Apparently it had indeed taken… more or less.</p>
<p>Even in ruins, the castle and grounds still held a certain element of majesty to them. Not least was the path that went past the eastern towers, and the gaping hole that now loomed in the structure. Remnants of a tile path, looking something like smashed eggshells in the dirt, led to a huge pile of rubble that seemed to be where most of that hole in the castle had landed.</p>
<p>As they got closer, though, a half-hidden opening became visible. Not just a gap in the debris, but something that had once been a doorway…</p>
<p>"Was the Royal Chapel," Larmina explained, and led them inside.</p>
<p>Romelle shivered a little, flashing briefly back to the Royal Sacellum on Korrinoth. But the interior couldn't be <em>less</em> like the Sacellum had been. Her hand went to the gaive'llar at her side. "It is a shame that such a place was… reduced to this," she murmured.</p>
<p>It was dark and empty, clearly stripped of decoration, but the main structure seemed largely intact. A few sweeping arches had done more good than merely the aesthetic. '<em>Was' the Royal Chapel.</em> "Is it something… else, now?" Pidge asked, his eyes darting around.</p>
<p>Larmina nodded. She'd been instructed to show them this first; their key role here was military, after all. "Golden Knights set up a base here. Good ambush spot. Defensive hub when the Drules come back." The doors that had led to the Hall of Worship were broken now, and a shattered altar lay beyond.</p>
<p>Making a note of the chapel as a base—and putting a star next to it for importance—Sven looked around and shook his head. The second room had large, empty alcoves and the remnants of fine marble pedestals. Long since looted, of course, but he could see it must once have been very grand. "What was in here before?"</p>
<p>"Was gold <em>everywhere</em>. Sinycka took care of that." Larmina looked around at where the statues had once been, then led them off to the left. "Radiant Warrior's shrine was here." She pushed down on a panel; where the base of a huge golden statue had once been secured, a trapdoor sprang open. It revealed a small stash of medical supplies, camouflage cloaks, dried rations, and a few of the charge packs they'd scavenged for captured Drule laser rifles.</p>
<p>Sven quickly wrote down what he saw—was his map also turning into a report to be handed in to Keith? Obviously—and looked at her again. "Radiant Warrior?" Cultural information couldn't hurt, and he did like mythology. Almost as much as maps.</p>
<p>"God of Protection," she explained, and made a face. <em>Big fat lot of good </em>that <em>was.</em></p>
<p>Pidge looked around and found his thoughts on a similar track—though given that it hadn't collapsed beneath the rubble, he couldn't help wondering if this place should be considered 'protected' or 'not protected'.</p>
<p><em>Interesting</em>. Did Arusians have such narrowly focused gods? There could only have been so many shrines in here… Sven cocked his head. "My ancestors' beliefs spoke of a similar god of protection, Thor. But he had many other responsibilities as well. Is the Radiant Warrior only concerned with protection?"</p>
<p>Larmina blinked. "Offworlders have gods?" No, no doubt that had not been a proper response. "…Protection, war, battle. All the everything like that."</p>
<p>"Why wouldn't offworlders have gods?" Pidge asked, eyeing her.</p>
<p>"I don't know what offworlders have!" she protested. "You stand in fire!" The ninja rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>Chuckling, Sven made another note. "Earthlings have many gods, and many religions to go along with them."</p>
<p>"Even the Drules have gods," Romelle agreed, then blushed as the others looked at her. "And on Pollux… we still worship the gods we brought with us from Arus." Though she knew they'd also left several behind, and she couldn't recall ever hearing of a Radiant Warrior. "They're said to have accompanied us into exile."</p>
<p>That got her a <em>very</em> odd look from Larmina, but she didn't have time to wonder about it. Sven was intrigued now; the tour could wait a few more minutes. "That <em>is</em> interesting. Are there stories of how that came to be?"</p>
<p>Oh. She blushed even hotter, but nodded. "The House of Lachesis was a prominent family here on Arus. Part of the nobility, if the stories are correct. They had always closely followed Koathel, the God of Space. When they… left… they asked the favor of him and his associate, the Goddess of Stars, Optari. They helped the ancestors find a new world to settle on, and remained to watch over us."</p>
<p>Sven nodded his understanding. It sounded reasonable and quite fascinating to him. But Larmina's eyes had gone wide with disbelief, and she slowly looked up as if expecting the roof to cave in. "…Let's go." She hurried for the entrance.</p>
<p>"…Komora?" Pidge followed, exchanging glances with a worried Romelle.</p>
<p>"Did I say something wrong?"</p>
<p>"I didn't think so." Sven shrugged as they passed back out into the sunlight.</p>
<p>Larmina had stopped just over the threshold, still not quite believing what she'd just heard. <em>And I thought asking the Golden Gods to get me out of my debut was reckless!</em> Taking in Romelle's obvious confusion, she decided she had to at least try to explain—if nothing else, to avoid a <em>repeat</em>. "When did the Polluxians leave?"</p>
<p><em>When did…</em> Romelle hesitated. "A few centuries ago?"</p>
<p>"Okay, but." A few centuries ago. Things were starting to come together in the Arusian's mind, and she found herself wishing she'd paid more attention to history lessons. These offworlders kept making her want to <em>learn things</em>. "No Golden Gods on Pollux?"</p>
<p>Watching the exchange, Sven felt a prickling of ice in the back of his mind. Blue Lion was irritated with this conversation. <em>What's wrong?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"…I don't know."</em>
</p>
<p>What? <em>I thought you knew everything.</em></p>
<p>That got him a growl of fond exasperation. <em>"I have told you I am not omniscient, Icehunter."</em></p>
<p>
  <em>My mistake.</em>
</p>
<p>"We left when the lions were hidden," Romelle attempted to explain, though she wasn't sure if that was any more helpful… she bit her lip worriedly. "I've never heard of any Golden Gods, no. I'm sorry if I have offended you?"</p>
<p><em>When the lions were WHAT?</em> Shaking her head, Larmina started for a side door of the castle, motioning for them to follow. "Maybe don't say the names of Usurpers in the Golden Gods' the <em>actual chapel</em>," she suggested with a grimace. "There was a very big war."</p>
<p><em>Usurpers? </em>Sven made a note of the door, though his interest now lay elsewhere.</p>
<p>Even Pidge was curious; all the more so when he heard Green growling in the back of his mind. <em>What?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"We were hidden…"</em>
</p>
<p>Yes, he'd known <em>that</em>. But the lion said nothing else.</p>
<p>"A war?" Romelle echoed. She knew the ancestors had fled Arus fearing the wrath of the Galra. The punishment that would be sure to fall on them for hiding the lions away. She'd never heard anything about an Arusian <em>holy war </em>in the meantime, and her hand went unconsciously to her gaive'llar again. <em>What more happened here that we don't know about?</em></p>
<p>Nodding, Larmina led them into the castle and pointed off to the side. "Staff elevator. Doesn't go anywhere now. Used to be ballrooms, that side collapsed." She wasn't really trying to change the subject, but she was supposed to be giving a tour. "War of Golden Revival. Golden Gods took the control back from the Usurper gods." Was there any way to quickly sum up the war? In Common, no less? She cycled swiftly through everything she remembered about it… and froze.</p>
<p>
  <em>The lions were wiped out to save the Arusian people…</em>
</p>
<p>Green was extremely agitated now, and Pidge's eyes widened, flashing green. The vision was coming back to him, the golden light… "Um, did these 'Usurper gods' leave shrines just kind of lying around?"</p>
<p>That did not sound like an idle question, but she'd never heard of one. "Don't think the Golden priests would have left them standing?"</p>
<p><em>The wolves interfered.</em> How, though? Why? It felt like every time they found a new piece to the puzzle, the puzzle just got bigger.</p>
<p>Sven's thoughts had gone to the temple where Blue's key had been. <em>Would it still be there, if it weren't underwater?</em> Then the other side of that question asserted itself. <em>How </em>did <em>it end up underwater?</em> He felt Blue's icy fury, and made a few more notes.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Are you truly taking notes on my reactions?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Yes," he answered as his eyes glowed, then winced. <em>Shit, that was out loud.</em></p>
<p>Romelle jumped, but quickly determined from his expression that the <em>yes</em> had not been meant for anyone in this group. She focused back on Larmina, whispering in Arusian. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or dishonor your gods."</p>
<p>She looked a little startled, and whispered back, "I'm not upset, exactly." <em>They didn't save us, did they?</em> "We just don't say stuff like that out loud."</p>
<p>Nodding, Romelle blushed—again—as she noticed Pidge eyeing her. She switched back to Common. "Apologies." She was doing so much apologizing today. "It is rather rude of me to speak when others can't understand."</p>
<p>"I didn't mind," Sven said absently. He was still wondering about the temple. The war. <em>What side were the lions on?</em> Blue growled in a way that said she wouldn't—or couldn't—answer that, so he made more notes.</p>
<p>Pidge, who'd been taking note of the Polluxian nervously touching her knife and not at all worried about her language, shrugged and muttered derisively in Baltan. "Manners."</p>
<p>That was enough of that. Larmina led them down a hallway to a set of stairs. "Down is the crypts. Don't go there. Parts of the ballrooms that aren't collapsed up here. Careful on the stairs." The fine crystalline tiling had been largely pried up, sometimes without worrying about the integrity of the stone beneath. "Castle was looted by the Drules. Extra looted when we took it back. All went to the tunnels." Then, for some reason—whether genuine curiosity, her instructions to learn about the offworlders, or just to cover the awkward quiet—she found herself blurting out, "What are offworlder gods like?"</p>
<p>Sven laughed. "Earthling gods are wildly varied, and at the same time very similar."</p>
<p>"Balto has three pantheons." Pidge shrugged. "Only one that gets much attention though."</p>
<p>Silently fingering the sigil of Kistrial on her gaive'llar, Romelle decided to just let the other two field this one. The other gods she knew of would surely be even less welcome in this discussion than Pollux's had been.</p>
<p>Taking them through a back corridor, Larmina snorted. "Security rooms are here. Ones with holes aren't secure anymore. And that was a lot of words that said nothing."</p>
<p>That <em>had</em> been pretty vague, Sven supposed as he noted the security rooms. "Well, there are hundreds—possibly thousands—of gods originating on Earth, and most Earthlings believe in only a few, or one. Many believe in none."</p>
<p>"Earthlings are inefficient," Pidge muttered under his breath.</p>
<p>"Sounds confusing."</p>
<p>"That must be confusing?" Larmina and Romelle had both expressed that at the same time; they exchanged slightly sheepish looks before Romelle continued. "If they believe in none, what do they believe?"</p>
<p>"In science, or knowledge, most of the time. Or there are some religions with no 'god' in the usual sense." The navigator shrugged. "We are a varied people."</p>
<p><em>No kidding</em>. Larmina decided to narrow this down to something simpler. "What else your protection god does?"</p>
<p>Sven smiled broadly. Now they were talking. "Thor was the protector of humanity and the god of thunder. He was known for his bravery, strength, healing powers, and righteousness… and his weapon, a large hammer named Mjolnir."</p>
<p><em>Huh</em>. "That is lots," Larmina agreed, and turned to Pidge. "You have a protection god?"</p>
<p>"Not exactly?" He frowned. "The closest is probably Dalzeran, the Panther Queen. She's the goddess of darkness and deception."</p>
<p>One of the Arusian's eyebrows shot up. "Sounds… pleasant."</p>
<p>"Actually yes?" His people were <em>ninjas</em>. "She's the leader of the Kezra—the pantheon we <em>do</em> pay attention to."</p>
<p>"Deities that sound frightening often aren't, at least when properly understood," Sven commented. "Hel, the Norse goddess and ruler of the underworld, for example. She housed and nurtured the dead. Not someone the living wanted to see, but respected nonetheless."</p>
<p>"Nurtured the dead?" Larmina echoed. "Aren't they dead?" Pidge eyed her; he'd been thinking something similar, but wasn't about to admit it <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>Green seemed amused.</p>
<p>"Yes, but their spirits are still around, so they enter her underworld where she takes care of them." Did the Arusians not have such a god? Sven couldn't help thinking they could probably use one, given what Vince had been going through.</p>
<p>"That does seem to be a comforting thought?" Romelle had learned very little about the Drule death goddess, Sarga, but she was pretty certain her position was similar.</p>
<p>"Silent Exile is our death god," Larmina said with a small shudder. "Don't want him to keep you. Just show you to the Golden Paradise." She couldn't recall any tales of the Golden Paradise that involved the dead needing to be nurtured. Now that an alien had mentioned it, that seemed weird. But did she want to worry about metaphysical logistics right now? No. No she did <em>not</em>.</p>
<p>Sven made a note. "I'll keep that in mind." His notes were more mythology than map so far; he was okay with it.</p>
<p>"Balto has a lot of death gods," Pidge said absently, his thoughts going back to the shrine in the forest again. And further back, to the arena. "Kind of."</p>
<p>"You're talking without saying things again," Larmina muttered.</p>
<p>The ninja sputtered and glared at the Arusian, which didn't make her wrong. <em>If I didn't hate her, I'd probably like her.</em></p>
<p><em>"Why</em> do <em>you hate her?"</em> Green still sounded amused.</p>
<p>…<em>Habit.</em></p>
<p>The lion outright laughed.</p>
<p><em>She's Pidge,</em> Sven thought, looking between them, and heard Blue chuckling in his mind. <em>What?</em> All that got him was more chuckling, of course.</p>
<p>Sighing and shaking his head, Pidge decided if she wanted him to talk he'd <em>talk</em>. "Fine. One of the pantheons we try not to bring up is the Tairra. They rule the hells. You don't want <em>any</em> of them getting their hands on you, because that's where the gods running the universal experiment use <em>you</em> as a test subject." Larmina's expression made it clear that she did, indeed, regret pushing the issue; he shrugged. "On the other hand there's the Phoenix King, Zalet. He's another Kezra—the god of light and courage—and his phoenixes carry the worthy to the peaceful darkness."</p>
<p>Both of Sven's eyebrows had gotten progressively higher during that explanation. And far be it from him to judge another culture's religion, but… "One of those sounds greatly preferable to the other."</p>
<p>"Some do sound more pleasant than others," Romelle agreed.</p>
<p>Larmina nodded too. "Think I like Sven's best." She wasn't even saying it out of bias, probably…</p>
<p>Tour. She was supposed to be giving a <em>tour</em>.</p>
<p>Beckoning for them to follow, she started walking again. But she couldn't seem to get her mind off of death gods and extinct lions.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Lance woke up shaking with anger, roughly swiping tears from his face with the back of his palm. He was boiling with it, the loss of his family a fresh wound. He'd dreamt about that day more than he ever admitted, of course—but it had never been so vivid, so <em>real</em>. It felt like he was eleven and had just gone from bratty kid to angry orphan all over again, and he felt sick as always when he thought about Drew and Charlie…</p>
<p>If he'd just stayed home.</p>
<p>It all rushed back. The things he hadn't known then. About the attackers—the nearly unbeatable alien pirates the Alliance called a <em>nuisance</em>. The Galra. They'd come to loot Beau Terre's food and supplies; the planet's token garrison, meant to resist the usual ragtag Rim pirates, had never had a chance.</p>
<p>His family hadn't had a chance…</p>
<p>Wiping at his eyes again, it slowly came back to him where he <em>was</em>. Part of that was the realization that three salalizards were clinging to the shuttle tracks, staring at him. Spork the mouse was between two of them, staring too… he blinked, then frowned at them all and stood up. "What?" He retrieved his jacket and pulled it on quickly as if it could shield him from the memories. "Haven't you ever seen a guy have a nightmare in an ancient tunnel to a volcano before?"</p>
<p>The <em>volcano</em>.</p>
<p>He turned and looked at the magma again, rushing behind what looked like glass, maybe. Cautiously, he touched it with his palm, half expecting to be burned… but he wasn't. He did feel the warmth, a softer heat than the anger burning inside of him, igniting again…</p>
<p>He swallowed thickly and whispered. "Was that you?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I'm afraid so, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Another angry swipe at the tears. "Why?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"All will become clear."</em>
</p>
<p>"No. <em>Now</em>. Because that was…" He trailed off. It defied words.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Painful, I know."</em>
</p>
<p>"Not the half of it."</p>
<p><em>"You are not unjustified, cub."</em> The lion's growl radiated through him. <em>"But I think it's best we do this face to face."</em></p>
<p>Face to face… Lance nodded, knowing he didn't need to say anything more. Maybe this was always how it was going to be.</p>
<p>He glanced at the salalizards. "Here to escort me?" Maybe they nodded, maybe he imagined it. He'd take it, either way… he turned his attention to the mouse. This was as far as it went, he supposed. "Thanks for the company."</p>
<p>Spork definitely nodded, and scurried off back toward the castle.</p>
<p>Lance closed his eyes for a moment, to brace himself. His heartbeat was racing again. Some of his anger had subsided, cooled… the rest had settled into a smoldering fire in his belly. One that was at odds with the heat he felt from…</p>
<p>The lion?</p>
<p>Their connection. He could feel it, and it was comforting as always and he <em>hated</em> that right now. The dream had hurt too much. But it was time now, and he forced his conflicted thoughts down as best he could. Finally he was actually going to see this lion, to <em>meet</em> this lion…</p>
<p>Face to face.</p>
<p>He took one more deep breath, nodded to the salalizards, and once again started walking towards the volcano.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Hunk was worried. And had he been told, not too long ago, that he would be worried by the fact that he'd left Lance in a volcano and not had supernatural visions of fire shortly afterwards, he'd have found it utterly insane even for his life.</p>
<p>Now it was just par for the course, because 'normal' was a lie and things making sense didn't matter, and he was strangely okay with that element of it. But the <em>not feeling fire</em> part itself was bothering him. What the hell was taking so long? Had he backed out? If he had, why hadn't he come <em>back?</em></p>
<p>Yellow was being infuriatingly unhelpful, of course. The only straight answer he'd gotten was that under no circumstances was he to go down into the tunnels and make sure Lance hadn't been washed away by magma or something. Which he didn't like, but he had to trust his teammate… and his lion, he supposed.</p>
<p>Trusting his lion was how he found himself wandering in the desert again. At least he could be certain of not getting <em>lost</em> out here now.</p>
<p>"This is very deserty."</p>
<p>He grinned and glanced over at Vince, who he'd recruited to help him find what he was looking for: a good site for a scrapyard. Keeping the stuff all in one place would be easier than the scavenging they'd been doing. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I still cannot figure out if that's a compliment."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Just a statement of fact, dude.</em>
</p>
<p>"It's pretty cool." Vince looked around the sparkling sand and blinked. "Well, not temperature-wise but—you know what I mean."</p>
<p>Hunk laughed. "It probably is kinda cool for a desert? This is a kinda weird spot to have one. But if we find a good spot to start stockpilin' some scrap, I ain't complainin'."</p>
<p>"I mean, there is a lot of space," Vince agreed. He could barely see where they'd come from. "So what are we looking for, exactly?"</p>
<p>"Mostly a good open spot with no explosive plant life, and enough rocks and stuff to block most of the wind." He motioned to a craggy area in the distance. "Deserts are actually great for metal storage if you know what you're doin'."</p>
<p>The other engineer side-eyed him. "Stockpiled a lot of scrap in deserts before?"</p>
<p>"Not me personally. Just know the theory, yeah?"</p>
<p>"I'll go with it…" <em>Going with a lot, lately</em>. Though really, what else was new?</p>
<p>"Seems best around here," Hunk agreed, veering around a large patch of cacti. Vince side-eyed those, too.</p>
<p>"Are those the kaboomy ones?"</p>
<p>"I just assume any cactus out here might blow up if poked wrong, honestly." Shrug. "I'm sure I'll be able to tell the difference sooner or later."</p>
<p>Oh. "Well, I definitely won't poke them, then." Vince paused as a breeze rustled past them, and breathed deeply. There was an earthy, slightly sweet scent—maybe the cacti?—and it was warm but not uncomfortably hot. "It's kind of nice out here, actually." <em>I like deserts, who knew?</em> They'd always seemed like one of the last places he would want to visit.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it's not bad," Hunk agreed as they crested a dune. From here he could see the distant crags rising up to form an actual ridge, and he pointed. "Let's try over there, that cliff wall looks promising."</p>
<p>As he said it, he felt something odd in the back of his mind. As if Yellow Lion were about to say something, then stopped… which he'd have expected to like more than he really did. <em>Yellow?</em></p>
<p><em>"Watch your step,"</em> the lion growled, which told him not a thing.</p>
<p>Vince had no idea about the telepathic conversation going on next to him, and he was more interested in looking around than down. "Cliff wall it is." He moved ahead a little bit, closing in on the crags.</p>
<p>A few minutes later, at a dip in the sand, he tripped over something and went down with a yelp. The yelp turned into an outright scream as he tried to catch his breath and found a skull staring at him. Leaping up, he whirled around and screamed again—because he was staring at a tall, pale blue woman with pointed ears.</p>
<p>"DRULE!" he screamed, grabbing for his sidearm, then remembering he hadn't brought a sidearm because it was the <em>desert</em> and—the woman flickered slightly, and he realized he could see the dune behind her. "No no no. GHOST DRULE!"</p>
<p>Hunk, who <em>had</em> brought a sidearm, had it halfway from its holster as he sprinted forward. "Dude!" Drule? He didn't see any—he froze as his eyes glowed yellow for a moment. And he saw them. <em>Two</em> of them. "Uh…" As his vision returned to normal, they vanished.</p>
<p>"Nope nope nope," Vince backed off and hid behind him. "Nope!" <em>It's better than it being alive and trying to kill you… wait that's a low standard!</em></p>
<p>"Uhh…" Hunk fumbled for something a little more eloquent and stepped to one side. His eyes flickered again, and the Drules appeared. "Those are ghosts?" They looked a bit bewildered, and Hunk had <em>never before</em> related to a Drule so much.</p>
<p>"Those?" Vince repeated in a small squeak, peeking around the big engineer's arm. Sure enough, he saw two now, a man next to the woman looking equally confused. "Why does there have to be two?"</p>
<p>As the glow in his eyes faded again, the Drules did as well, which didn't exactly make Hunk feel better. "Why does there have to be one?!"</p>
<p>"I mean yes, why are there any gh—" <em>Wait</em>. Vince looked up at him with wide eyes. "You see them?!"</p>
<p>"Yep?" Looking down he saw a few scorched bones, and what looked like pieces of Drule infantry armor. "You know what, <em>nope</em>." He retreated. Fast.</p>
<p>That left Vince staring at the ghosts again, and he wheeled around to follow. "Wait, wait! Let me nope with you!" There was something incredibly refreshing about someone else <em>freaking out</em> about this stuff with him. "I've never liked you more, how is it you're in on this nightmare with me?"</p>
<p>"Why the <em>fuzzmuffins</em>," Hunk was muttering at the same time, "yeah that!"</p>
<p>"Effing fuzzmuffins."</p>
<p>"Full-on fuckin' fuzzmuffins. With a side of nope."</p>
<p>"Desert full of nope."</p>
<p>"Yep."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do you want an answer to your question, or are you enjoying your theatrics?"</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk nearly dropped his gun. "WHAT."</p>
<p><em>"It is a good sign, Earthwarder."</em> Yellow sounded pleased. <em>"Our Bond is proceeding well."</em></p>
<p><em>What. What the what</em>. Counting down from ten to get his breath back, Hunk looked down at Vince and grimaced as his eyes glowed. The Drules were still there at the corner of his vision. "Excuse me one sec, little dude. I need to yell at my lion and just doin' it in my head ain't gonna cut it."</p>
<p>"Huh?" Vince didn't exactly expect or want an answer to that. <em>Right, people have lions in their heads.</em></p>
<p>Circling around so he wouldn't be yelling in the kid's ear, Hunk faced the direction he was pretty sure the den was in and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "LISTEN UP, YOU METAL FURBALL, THIS IS NOT A 'GOOD SIGN'!"</p>
<p>The immediate response was only a sense of amusement.</p>
<p>"Good sign?" Vince echoed, and once again liked Hunk more than ever. <em>Ghosts and good, </em>not <em>a thing</em>.</p>
<p>Before Hunk started yelling again, his lion decided to elaborate. <em>"The earth reclaims the dead. You did not mind seeing fragments of my vision when you spoke to the rocks beneath the castle."</em></p>
<p>Hunk blinked. Blinked again. Blinked one more time. And looked back at where the ghosts were, trying to will his eyes <em>to</em> glow, for once. Was that a thing he could do?</p>
<p>Apparently it was. Because his vision went yellow for a moment, and there they were.</p>
<p>"…Okay, I was <em>not</em> informed." He looked over at Vince, who was watching him with a great deal of consternation, and gave an exasperated sigh. "Y'know how the Earth is patient? I've mentioned that, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, you have. Sounds creepy."</p>
<p>"It was creepy enough without him buryin' the part about how the earth <em>sees dead people</em>."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Aren't you glad I did not worry you with it before, then?"</em>
</p>
<p><em>Dude, we are gonna have another discussion! </em>What the hell <em>were</em> these magical lion ships? Other than ships, which he'd thought was going to be the biggest problem here, but apparently <em>not</em>.</p>
<p>Yellow gave a somewhat concerned purr.</p>
<p>Also concerned was Vince, who was staring at him in disbelief. "The lion is making you see dead people?"</p>
<p>"That's what he said." Wait. "Actually no that's not quite what he said, he said I'm seein' things he sees."</p>
<p>That was not really an improvement. "Does he know why <em>I</em> have to see dead people?"</p>
<p>Did he? Hunk shrugged; it seemed worth a try. <em>Yellow? Any thoughts?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"The cub holds mysteries I cannot yet speak of."</em>
</p>
<p>…What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was it helpful? Would it just freak Vince out more? Hunk didn't find it reassuring, at least. "Uh, he said cryptic lion stuff." That much was perfectly clear.</p>
<p>Of course. Answers were never simple. "Well, thanks for asking."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can help you solve the immediate concern, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>PLEASE.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Return the remains fully to the earth, and the spirits will no longer be forced to wander."</em>
</p>
<p>"Uhh…" That was something. He looked at the bones. "I think he also just said if we bury what's left of the Drules they'll go away?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Close enough."</em>
</p>
<p>"Nope!" Vince yelped immediately, then covered his hand with his mouth as he flushed with embarrassment. "Uh, sorry. That was a reflex." Looking towards the ghost Drules, he sighed. "I… wouldn't want to be just wandering forever," he admitted slowly. Even on a planet they'd invaded. Probably hadn't been <em>their</em> idea, anyway.</p>
<p>"Yeah." Hunk gave a small frown. "That would suck, for sure." They looked at each other for what felt like another very long moment, and both knew what they had to do, though neither was actually going to say it.</p>
<p>"We don't have shovels."</p>
<p>"That's an issue." <em>Yella Fella, anything your earthy magic stuff can do to help with that?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Not at this time."</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>That wasn't a no and I'm just gonna forget I asked it.</em> "Guess we better go find somethin', yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah," Vince agreed. It would give him time to brace for getting close to the ghosts again, too. <em>Drule ghosts</em>. "I don't think that cliff was the right place for your scrapyard, anyway."</p>
<p>"Yeah. I'm thinkin' we might want somewhere else. Like… on the other side of the desert."</p>
<p>"Far on the other side."</p>
<p>"Way far. Let's go get some shovels and do the thing and never go near that spot again."</p>
<p>As they started back to look for shovels, or at least something shovel-adjacent, something else occurred to Hunk; he shot a brief glare in the direction of Yellow's den again. It felt like the lion had <em>wanted</em> them to do this… <em>so what, you could tell us to watch our step but you couldn't just warn us outright?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"I did not know you would see them so soon. Nor that the cub would yet see the spirits of the invaders."</em>
</p>
<p>He guessed that was fair… wait. <em>Yet?!</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"In time. The Earth is—"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT.</em>
</p>
<p>The lion gave a growl that actually sounded slightly apologetic. And, to Hunk's shock, he didn't say it.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Keith was rummaging through some of the closets on the <em>Falcon</em>, again. He'd done this already, repeatedly, but he kept hoping there might be something else he could use. He had found a bag earlier that seemed reasonably sturdy, but not much else…</p>
<p>Damn, he could have used the things they'd lost with the <em>Bolt</em>. But he couldn't dwell on it.</p>
<p>He knew time was short. His lion had said as much yesterday. And when Pidge had arrived with glowing green eyes, it had only solidified it more. Lance had gone to the tunnels. Only <em>one</em> person on the team still had to figure out the way to their lion, and it was pressing in on him.</p>
<p>It wasn't <em>entirely</em> his fault. Princess Allura had told him to give her a few days to get some things together. But maybe he shouldn't have waited, the way he wasn't meant to take the tunnels… no, that train of thought wasn't going to help him either. He <em>had</em> waited. Now he had to move.</p>
<p>Moving to the galley, he went through the cupboards and sighed. There wasn’t much left on board, and most of that wasn't fit to be carried with him. There was a small pouch of some dried grain, probably tasteless and nutritious. Would it be enough? How long was this other path supposed to be?</p>
<p>Maybe food was something the Princess would be able to help him with. The Arusians <em>had</em> said the spring was bringing their stocks back up. And water—the <em>Falcon's</em> main tanks were long since empty—they had a filtration tank that was getting them by, but it was hardly portable.</p>
<p>
  <em>Can I really take more advantage of their generosity? They still have so little.</em>
</p>
<p>…<em>Am I supposed to fly a magical space cat to save them or not?</em></p>
<p>He thought the Lion of Storms chuckled in his mind.</p>
<p>Keith wasn't the only one working on the problem. Allura, too, had secured a bag, and was in what was left of the receiving room testing the weight of the various supplies she'd gathered. She knew the far path to the Black Lion's den, somewhat; she had walked it on rare occasions with her father. It <em>was</em> a hike. She couldn't have told the Earthling every twist and turn of it even if she'd been allowed to, but she had no doubt he would find his way. The less encumbered he was, though, the easier it would be…</p>
<p>Someone knocked on the doorframe. "Excuse me, Princess?"</p>
<p>Looking up, she smiled. Exactly who she'd been waiting for. "Oh, Keith. Hello."</p>
<p>"Hello." He gave an awkward nod, but this wasn't a time for hesitation. <em>You know that the time is short.</em> "I was wondering about the other path you'd mentioned to me—you said to give you a few days to gather things?"</p>
<p>Nod. "I'm working on the last of it right now, making sure it will be sufficient." She indicated the bag, noting that he'd brought one of his own. It looked a bit more unwieldy. "There are going to be parts where you will need a good grip," she cautioned. "I was able to scrounge a bit of chalk, and some rations."</p>
<p>"Chalk?" he echoed, a little surprised. <em>Well, you </em>are <em>climbing a mountain.</em> "I hadn't even thought about that, thank you." She smiled and he continued hesitantly. "I was mainly concerned with water. Hiking up a mountain, I will probably need quite a bit."</p>
<p>"Ah." And there lay the problem she'd been debating when he arrived… picking a water bottle out of the supplies she'd gathered, she held it out to him. "Will this do? I did find a larger one also." <em>Containers</em> were not in short supply in the shelters. Things to put <em>in</em> the containers, hit or miss, but they did have a large lake nearby. "It's just that it would weigh you down significantly more."</p>
<p>He looked it over, then looked up at her. For a princess of a planet that seemed to have been so… <em>ceremonial</em>, she seemed to know a lot about mountain climbing. He wondered if it was something she'd done before the Drules, or the crash course in survival she'd been forced to take since…</p>
<p>Yes, he <em>was</em> fully intending to fly a mysterious lion robot for them, if that was what it took.</p>
<p>"Either a larger one or at least one more this size, I think," he finally said with a small shrug. "I don’t know exactly how long this path is, but I'm assuming it's significant? Better to be weighed down than dehydrated."</p>
<p>"It is long," she confirmed. "Here." She showed him the larger bottle she'd found, placing it and a few small pouches in the bag; the chalk, and some ration bundles. "The smaller packets are dried roli strips. Nothing like grilled, but it will keep you going."</p>
<p>As if he could complain about that! "Thank you. I know you all don’t have much, but this will help…" He almost said <em>help me help you</em>, but it felt patronizing. Whatever mystery was stopping them from waking their own lions, whatever twist of fate put their world's safety in the hands of outsiders, the Arusians were damn well <em>not</em> to be talked down to. That he knew for certain. So he accepted the bag and put it in his own—extra versatility wouldn't hurt. "Where do I go from here?"</p>
<p>"I'll show you to the beginning of the trail." That, at least, Black Lion seemed to feel was acceptable. "I need to go and fetch a couple of guards first, though. Coran will insist, going out so far…" Not that she'd argued it much, for once. Letting a few more of her people meet one of the Earthlings seemed like a wise course, now that they were getting so <em>close</em>. Then she eyed him, thinking about what else she'd heard from Coran. "You may want to go armed, as well. The mountains can be dangerous."</p>
<p>Keith blinked. He <em>had</em> been wondering if he dared… he'd be more comfortable with a sword at his side, no doubt, but he wasn't sure if that was the correct way to present himself to the Lion of Storms. Then again…</p>
<p><em>"You claim to be willing to fight,"</em> the lion growled softly. <em>"Do not forsake your claws."</em></p>
<p>Nodding, Keith slung the bag over his shoulder and saluted to the princess. "I'll go get my sword, then."</p>
<p>Allura nodded as well, watching him go… and only then allowed herself a giddy little grin. Soon. It was more than a fulfillment of a vision, but a lifelong dream come true…</p>
<p>She would see the Black Lion fly.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>With his usual penchant for making bad decisions, Daniel had slept next to the tree he'd lost a fight with. Beat going back to the <em>Falcon</em> and answering questions. He still had blood all over his hands, and he'd tried to rig his shirt into a truly terrible excuse for a sling, and now he was looking for Captain Sarial. He didn't <em>want</em> to be looking for her, but he needed to, because <em>ow</em>. And also <em>more ow</em>. And he'd definitely rather face her than Lance.</p>
<p>He was still pissed off and sad, along with in pain, and wondered which of those the coming lectures would make worse.</p>
<p>Sarial was out on her superfluous morning patrol again, and caught sight of Daniel at about the same time he saw her. He looked upset, he was bloody, and his arm was in a poor attempt at a sling that hadn't been there when she saw him yesterday… <em>oh dear.</em></p>
<p>"Captain, how's your morning going?" He didn't even try to fake being chipper about the question.</p>
<p>"Less interesting than it's about to be." Of that she was completely certain. "I trust you'd be showing a bit more urgency if a leftover sinycka had done this to you."</p>
<p>"Yeah…" He probably wouldn't be going to her if he'd found a Drule, anyway. He'd have gone to his team… no, that thought was going to piss him off again. "Sorry the cast got messed up. Was hoping we could get me fixed up again?"</p>
<p>No question he needed it; she sighed. She was quite certain she'd stressed their limited resources… what had it been? Three days ago? "I'm sure we can do something for you. What happened?"</p>
<p>He paused. How had he failed to come up with a good lie? <em>Again?</em> "I had an altercation."</p>
<p>"Was it while you were on patrol?" she asked, in her best <em>not lecturing you</em> tone. "Because you <em>do</em> owe me a report if you encountered anything harmful."</p>
<p>"There was nothing harmful on patrol," he assured her, rolling his eyes at the thought that followed it. <em>Except maybe me</em>. "I… lost my temper."</p>
<p>"That's a start." Maybe she was lecturing him a little.</p>
<p>Glare. "To what?"</p>
<p>"A full report." She arched an eyebrow, just slightly. If nothing else, she would be treating him like part of her militia. Because he <em>was</em>.</p>
<p>Daniel stared at her blankly. <em>Holy fuck, she's like Keith and Lance in one person</em>. Well, fine, whatever. She wanted a report? She could have a report.</p>
<p>"Well, it was pretty boring, actually." He kept his tone <em>just</em> this side of openly insolent. "Walked the area around the castle, nothing real interesting, just a bunch of rubble and scorched shit. Decided I'd be proactive and go out further, which was a mistake because I ran into Pidge. You know, one of my team members. Short, brown hair, green eyes, tends to stab people. We started talking about shit I'm not allowed to tell you because <em>you're</em> not in the need to know. It pissed me off. So I left Pidge, continued on my patrol—picked up the pace a little, though. Eventually I came across a tree, and at some point I decided it would be a perfect punching bag. It wasn't."</p>
<p>…Well. She <em>had</em> asked him for a full report. Going over it a couple of times in her head, she decided the part she hadn't followed wasn't important right now; when she <em>was</em> in the need to know, she was fairly certain it wouldn't be Daniel telling her about it. What was immediately relevant was that, if she understood correctly, he'd tried to beat up a tree. "Fair enough. Come with me."</p>
<p>The fight-or-flight adrenaline that Daniel had been preparing crashed. Why did none of his current preferred authority figures get mad? He wanted them to get mad, and <em>he</em> had chosen them. They should get mad! "Yes ma'am."</p>
<p>As she led him to the tunnels, the captain may have still been lecturing a little. Just a little. "I certainly don't want to leave you dripping blood out of your palms, but I also asked you to respect our limited medical resources. You agreed." She glanced back at him. "I'll be able to convince Dr. Gorma to patch you up this time. I can't promise the same for the next."</p>
<p>He had agreed. And he'd meant it, at the time. "I understand." He was pretty sure she'd just given him a disappointed face, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Lance's.</p>
<p>Sarial studied him for a few moments, judging his sincerity, and decided to accept it. "Then we're settled, I believe. Where's Toast?"</p>
<p>Daniel's conscience—stupid voice in his head, always making him feel guilty for shit—was telling him to say <em>thank you</em>. Luckily her question spared him. "I left him on the ship when I went out on patrol." That was what he got for being a good salalizard parent and letting them sleep, he supposed.</p>
<p>Nodding, the captain turned her full attention to tracking down Gorma. Which wasn't that difficult, really; he rarely left the medical area.</p>
<p>He'd been working on inventorying supplies—the scouts had brought back a new batch of plants for numbing ointments—and was a bit startled to be disturbed. "Captain Sarial, what are y…" Then he saw the Earthling behind her, and one very judgmental eyebrow went up.</p>
<p>Sarial would <em>not</em> be having any judgmental eyebrows put towards her people, and answered in her full command tone. "Daniel was injured while on patrol for the militia. I understand a full new cast is out of the question, but I need you to do what you can."</p>
<p>Gorma blinked, then nodded and approached to give Daniel a look. "I should be able to secure his hand with a thickly wrapped splint, mostly from what's left of the cast. He's also going to need stitches in both hands." The stitches would be easy, at least; Arusian science had yet to find any synthetic that promoted healing as well as simple zyva root fibers, and they could be cultivated in the caves. He went to get his supplies and some of the numbing ointment, leaving Sarial to give Daniel a wry smile.</p>
<p>"He's going to splint the wound you heroically acquired while on patrol."</p>
<p>He answered the smile with a deadpan look, which lasted for about three seconds. Then he saw what Gorma was bringing over. "If it's just a splint why is he bringing out <em>needles?"</em></p>
<p>"For your hands." Did the Alliance do stitches? She knew their language, not their medical techniques. "Will sewing the wounds closed bother you? We have wound adhesive, but it'll heal much better with the stitches."</p>
<p>Ugh. "No, no. It's fine. If I can take the cut, I can take the stitches." He lowered his voice to a grumble born of bad decisions and regret. "Even though they <em>suck."</em> He fell silent as the doctor got to work.</p>
<p>Sarial just looked amused. "I'd be worried if you enjoyed them." Which was fair, he supposed.</p>
<p>The ensuing silence sucked even more than stitches, because it let his <em>conscience</em> start up again. <em>You've been an ass. A complete and total ass. It's not </em>her <em>fault you lost a fight with a tree.</em> "Thanks."</p>
<p>Nod. "You're welcome."</p>
<p>It didn't shut his conscience up. <em>That's not what you say when you've been an asshole.</em> Did he have the emotional willpower to apologize? Did he have the emotional willpower to <em>not</em> apologize? "So, uh. I don't really, I mean, uh. I was an ass…" He paused as something rang familiar about the words. "…Oh my god, I just made a Cam apology."</p>
<p>The realization sent a wave of grief and disgust through him—grief at realizing he hadn't thought about Cam in what felt like forever. Disgust because, well, his apologies had been terrible and gross.</p>
<p>"I don't know that expression." Sarial frowned. "And from the look on your face, I don't think I want to."</p>
<p>"Yeah, probably not." He didn't want to explain.</p>
<p>"In any case, I don't need an apology. Just be careful this time." She met his eyes for a brief moment. "But if something else does happen, be honest with me and I'll do the best I can for you. Understood? I know nothing around here goes as planned anymore." That had been true even before the offworlders showed up. It was twice as true now.</p>
<p>Daniel half heard her; the other half of his mind was on Cam. What would he say about this? He'd be ranting about how questioning the Commander was sacrilege, no doubt. And saying he needed to trust them. <em>Ugh</em>. When had trust ever worked out for him? Hell, that was why he was in <em>this</em> position.</p>
<p>And that brought him back to what Sarial had just said… he looked up and frowned slightly. "Can I trust you?"</p>
<p>In response she gestured to Gorma, who had moved on to the splint. She <em>had</em> just kind-of-lied to the doctor to cover for him punching a tree. "Can you?"</p>
<p>"I don't know. Okay?" He took her point, but she didn't get it. "I tend to do this thing where people are nice to me for two seconds and they act like they have my back, but they don't and I get screwed." He was talking fast, trying to spit it out before he could think better or worse or <em>whatever</em> of it. "But I've never really asked if I could trust them, I just trusted them, and that's my own fault so this time I'm asking."</p>
<p>Sarial had not seen that coming, and was abruptly struck by a sense of what she thought Earthlings called <em>deja vu</em>. Nearly everyone in the militia either was now a teenager, or had been on her watch. Before the Drules, she'd done quite a lot of talking them through <em>teenager things. </em>Before they had to become actual soldiers…</p>
<p>But Daniel was already a soldier.</p>
<p>Gorma had finished with the splint, but given the long and animated conversation that he hadn't understood a word of, he decided not to bother with his standard lecture for his patient to <em>stop injuring himself.</em> It didn't seem to have worked last time, anyway. So he simply nodded that they could go, and shooed them out of his supply room.</p>
<p>It gave Sarial time to decide how to deal with the question… though really, it wasn't that hard to decide, and she turned to him as they exited the tunnels. Her job was to aid the strangers and to take care of her militia. Period.</p>
<p>"I'd make a poor Captain if I couldn't be trusted." She looked him in the eye again, this time holding his gaze. "I <em>will</em> have your back. But I saw you being dragged off at the cookout. Am I really the person you need to be asking?"</p>
<p>Oh, of <em>course</em> she had. Daniel laughed bitterly. "Yeah. That was Lance, he's my…" <em>Definitely not an M-word</em>. "My person, or he's supposed to be, he promised but it's not—he won't—we had a mission, okay, but now it's—ugh!" How the hell was he supposed to explain this? "Okay. You know how we're supposed to 'save' Arus? I can't tell you how and I don't know why I can't, because I know about it and I have nothing to do with it. There's weird magical bullshit and I can't explain it and neither can my team but it's supposed to save us, but I'm not a part of it, I'm the <em>only</em> team member who's not part of it in some way! I'm not important and I'm terrified I'm going to get left behind and I—I <em>need</em> them." Scowl. "And I'm pissed off because I can't even be mad at them for it, because what are they supposed to do? Let all of you die?"</p>
<p>He finally fell silent, catching his breath. And his brain helpfully provided a question he had <em>not</em> given it permission to have.</p>
<p>
  <em>If it's not their fault, why are you abandoning them?</em>
</p>
<p>"…We <em>would</em> prefer they not do that," Sarial admitted with a grim smile. <em>So many full reports, now that I've convinced him to make them…</em> "But who's leaving you behind? You're still here. And I'm certain they haven't kicked you out, if you left Toast on your ship."</p>
<p>He had not given her permission to point that out, either!</p>
<p>Of course they hadn't kicked him out. They'd been making every effort to include him. <em>He'd</em> pushed them away. He'd been so certain they'd leave him <em>eventually</em>, he refused to see that they'd done nothing but be there for him… and here he was spilling his guts to an Arusian he'd met less than a week ago, to avoid talking to the person who'd had his back every damn time…</p>
<p>"Oh, fuck."</p>
<p>Sarial hid a small, knowing smile. She might not know exactly what was going through his head, but she <em>did</em> know the Expletive of Epiphany when she heard it.</p>
<p>"I'm wrong here, aren't I?" That was a rhetorical question. "Oh my god." <em>I just threw a giant fucking tantrum for nothing.</em> "I gotta go find Lance and tell him I'm sorry…" But Lance hadn't been the only one to reassure him and get asshole behavior in response, either. "Aw, MAN." He looked at the captain and grimaced. "I gotta… I gotta apologize to Keith, and pray that the sword up his ass doesn't demand a heartfelt conversation about <em>emotions</em>."</p>
<p>And that was the end of Sarial's composure; even she couldn't quite hold back the laugh. "Is that what you—" Thinking back to the commander's tale, she nodded slowly. "He is rather emotional, isn't he?" She didn't think it was a bad thing. Maybe Daniel would decide that too, in time… though probably not any time soon.</p>
<p>"He really is." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's gross." Standing around here wasn't going to accomplish anything else… he gave her a small, sheepish grin. "Thanks for the medical help and uh, being a makeshift therapist? I'm gonna go find Lance or Keith and fix things." He took off.</p>
<p>Finally letting the knowing smile out, Sarial spoke to the empty air where he'd been standing. "Any time."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>It was still a long walk—how far did these tunnels go? Well, the volcano hadn't been <em>close</em>. With every step, Lance tried to push down the anger. He was well practiced at that, after all… partitioning it off. Sure, sometimes something would trigger him. It would all explode outward, in one bright burst that he knew scared people—he'd seen it more than once. The looks, the disapproval, the inability to understand what could make him act out so swiftly and violently. He could never explain it, not really. Except for…</p>
<p>
  <em>Flynn.</em>
</p>
<p>It was easy at that thought to feel another burst of anger, another hole ripped out of his soul by a different set of monsters. But monsters, all the same. Lance curled his hands into fists and closed his eyes, the glow of the magma penetrating his eyelids just enough to keep him walking straight…</p>
<p>He didn't want to <em>feel</em> this, but it seemed almost like the Lion of Flame wanted him to. And that he didn't understand at all, and it kept the fury boiling in his guts, even as he felt a familiar curl of comforting warmth wrap around him… that presence.</p>
<p>But it was <em>only</em> a presence now.</p>
<p>It wasn't healing—it'd been <em>healing</em> since they landed on Arus, and he realized it abruptly by its absence. It had been comfortable, something that he'd wanted to seek out and know. Something that had gifted him some sort of peace, maybe a focus. That warmth. And he'd wanted to touch the lion, like that mystical metal, and feel that comfort curl around his arm again…</p>
<p><em>"Soon,"</em> came the warm, gruff voice in his head.</p>
<p>Opening his eyes, Lance realized he could see something ahead. An entrance? Dark rock and the crimson glow of magma lay before him. Hurrying forward he stepped through the opening and gasped, leaping back just as quickly, expecting to be burned by the heat because there was an <em>ocean of lava</em> in front of him.</p>
<p>He was <em>in a volcano</em>.</p>
<p>It was preposterous.</p>
<p>He stared at the sea of lava, and he felt it. The heat was <em>visible</em>, he saw the waves of it in shifting front of him. But it wasn't too hot, not even uncomfortable. Only the warmth…</p>
<p>"How?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"That I cannot answer."</em>
</p>
<p>The voice boomed in his head, almost like it was outside of his brain for once, and it made him look to his left.</p>
<p>And he saw it.</p>
<p>A <em>lion</em>.</p>
<p>A gigantic metallic lion, the same brilliant red as the metal scrap that had haunted him. Sleek, sharp radiator fins rose from its back and shoulders, and he saw the red sigil from the murder temple etched onto one flank. It sat on a platform, atop some rocky steps—but steps, clear <em>steps</em> toward it, no more of the nonsense like the tunnels—and he rushed forward at full speed, all the impatience from yesterday slamming into him all over again. As he got closer it just loomed bigger and brighter in the glow of the den, and finally he was staring up at him…</p>
<p>The lion's fierce eyes felt like they were piercing his soul.</p>
<p>
  <em>"And now we are face to face, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>All the time he'd spent imagining this, dreaming of it. All the things he'd thought he wanted, needed to say. They were all lost for a moment in the glow of the magma.</p>
<p>"Hi," he squeaked.</p>
<p>The low, growling purr filled his mind. <em>"I am Red Lion, the Lion of Flame."</em></p>
<p>Lance nodded, he'd known that, yet it felt like a momentous introduction and he couldn't find his voice. All he could do was stare at this lion, this sentient metal being that had been calling to him for the last week—was it only a week, how was it possibly only a <em>week</em>, or had it been calling to him since Kithran?—and that he'd known he belonged…</p>
<p>Belonged with?</p>
<p>Doubt rose again.</p>
<p>
  <em>"That is healthy."</em>
</p>
<p>"Is it?" Lance snorted. He didn't generally do <em>doubt</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I would say so. Our Bonding isn't something to be done or taken lightly. For all the instincts that drove you here, there must still be questions."</em>
</p>
<p>There was sure as fuck one question. "Why the dream, Red?" The words were low and bitter, but calling the lion by its name sent the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah, yes, the indelible memory."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance clenched his jaw. "Seems too nice of a word for it."</p>
<p>
  <em>"It is ugly, it's destructive. And it is not the only memory of loss etched into your soul."</em>
</p>
<p>Hell no. Not again. "I don't want to talk about him…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Oh, but he matters."</em>
</p>
<p>Lance nodded. Hell, they'd all mattered. Cam, even Jace… Flynn the most, for him. But the Drules had to pay for them all.</p>
<p>
  <em>"And they matter."</em>
</p>
<p>His family. Where it had all started, the rage he'd held onto ever since. "Yes."</p>
<p>
  <em>"What is it you want to do to honor their memory?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Pain…" Lance scoffed. "I want to mete out equal pain."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah, yes. Hurt those that hurt you."</em>
</p>
<p>Yes. But also no, he realized as the lion's voice washed over him. "They're still out there, the Galra, attacking anyone who doesn't submit to their demands. The Alliance sees them as just a fucking <em>nuisance</em> but they destroy families, homes, lives… and the fucking Drules are no better. This place looks like…"</p>
<p><em>"Your home." </em>Lance clenched his jaw, unable to respond. <em>"And so you believe it deserves…"</em></p>
<p>"Vengeance."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Or…"</em>
</p>
<p>"Or?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Justice."</em>
</p>
<p>"Same thing!"</p>
<p><em>"Is it?"</em> Red chuckled, a sound of warmth and sympathy. <em>"Your grief is a fire, cub."</em></p>
<p>"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, wiping a few stubborn tears trying to well up in his eyes.</p>
<p>
  <em>"It burns bright, and it can be channeled to greatness."</em>
</p>
<p>Greatness? "You can help me get vengeance."</p>
<p>
  <em>"That depends. You wish to fight for this world?"</em>
</p>
<p><em>For Arus…</em> he thought about the wreck of a castle, the destruction of its village, the faces of the Arusians he'd seen and how they were fighting, how they'd survived it all. "Yes, of course. They deserve payback, they deserve their <em>home</em>."</p>
<p>He missed his home. Arus's blue sky reminded him of home. Red's warmth promised a place where he belonged, a place where he could make some difference. To spare others what he'd gone through. He reached out to touch the lion's bright red metal and felt that warmth curl around him, calming him almost immediately.</p>
<p><em>"I can't promise you that we will find your vengeance,"</em> Red cautioned.</p>
<p>"What can you promise?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Nothing but that we can fight against the injustice done in this place and time. There are those who can yet be protected… and they, too, matter."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Protect what else matters</em>. His thoughts went to Daniel. To the whole team. To the crumbling castle and those within it. Fighting against injustice—that <em>was</em> payback, in a way, wasn't it? Protecting this place, denying it to the Drules, they were two sides of the same coin. He could do both.</p>
<p>Yet one question still lingered, and he looked around the sea of magma. It was as different from the Beau Terre blue of the sky as could be, but it felt right all the same. "Why me?"</p>
<p>There was a pause. Just a moment, just enough to focus the words. <em>"Because your grief is a fire."</em></p>
<p>…This was it.</p>
<p>It had been inevitable. Lance knew that now. This had been set in motion from the second he touched the red metal, all those months ago. He had been searching for this, and he had to believe in this path. This lion.</p>
<p>He did.</p>
<p>Nodding, he looked up at the huge lion's face. "Alright, Red. Let's fucking bond."</p>
<p>There was a gruff chuckle, and on some instinct he reached up and touched one of the gleaming claws before him.</p>
<p>—<em>There was a flare, a sudden all-encompassing heat that felt like it wrapped around him and burned right into his bones, and he was burning but not panicking and the magma churning around him seemed to have flooded his veins, and then it was over—</em></p>
<p>Gasping for breath, flailing to recover, he heard Red's voice. More than heard, he <em>felt</em> it, resonating through him.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You are now the Knight of the Flame, Paladin of Justice. And your name shall be…"</em>
</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>"…Firestriker."</p>
<p>The surge had been almost unbearable, yet over the instant it began. Walking back to the <em>Falcon</em> with Pidge, picking up Daniel as they went, Sven had barely had time to greet the gunner before his eyes had gone blue and <em>stayed</em> there. Then there was heat—intense, searing heat, seeming to shape the blue energy that danced around him into afterimages of flame.</p>
<p>Then it was gone.</p>
<p>Pidge's eyes had glowed at the same time, but all that had swept through the other two was a warm breeze. Now they looked back at Sven, and he shook his head slightly. He couldn't explain what had happened, but wasn't that about typical? There was only one thing he knew for sure.</p>
<p><em>Lance</em>…</p>
<p>"His name is Firestriker."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Pieces of the Puzzle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The silence only lasted a few seconds.</p><p>Sven drew a long, steadying breath as the surge of fire faded, the glow in his eyes only slowly draining away. That had been… intense. <em>What the hell </em>was <em>that?</em> "Fuck."</p><p>"That was weird." Pidge shook off the warmth, eyes darting between a very shaken-looking navigator and a very confused-looking gunner. After a moment's thought he stepped back to get out of Daniel's way, fully expecting a secondary eruption, because magic lion things always went over so <em>well</em> with him.</p><p>But Daniel was just staring blankly at them. "Uhh… you guys felt that, too?"</p><p>"I felt something…?"</p><p>Sven made a face. "Felt something? No, I was just set on <em>fire</em>."</p><p>Pidge redirected his attention immediately, looking him up and down and frowning. "You look fine."</p><p>Sigh. "Thank you, Pidge." He should've expected that.</p><p>Feeling Green's amusement, the ninja quickly started to put things together in his head. <em>Fire?</em> Hunk had mentioned Lance going to the volcano. Their eyes had glowed… <em>You knew that was coming, didn't you?</em> She purred, and he scowled. <em>That's not an answer!</em></p><p>Daniel was still not running anywhere. Not yet. In fact he was pretty much dead still, with every thought that had been in his head a few moments before now <em>entirely</em> forgotten.</p><p>He'd felt warmth. He hadn't just been imagining it, he'd felt it before they said anything—he just hadn't really had time to wonder about it before the glowy eyes started up. And now he was <em>wondering</em>. "Why did <em>I</em> feel something?" It didn't make any sense. At all. If it had been some weird lion thing…</p><p>…And clearly it <em>had</em> been some weird lion thing…</p><p><em>But they all have pilots already</em>. Didn't they? He quickly ran through it in his mind—five lions, five of his teammates, each one accounted for. Warmth meant Lance's, surely. He'd been searching a <em>volcano</em>.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>His thoughts were racing between touchpoints. Warmth—he usually got that from his salalizards. The same salalizards they'd found at the volcano. The ones Lance had said <em>belonged to</em> the volcano lion.</p><p>"…Those little rats." He raised his head and took a deep breath. "I gotta go." And with that he calmly—<em>quickly</em>, but calmly—took off for the <em>Falcon's</em> nearest boarding ramp.</p><p>"I… what?" Sven had been caught up in trying to figure out the implications of being spiritually set on fire, though he didn't really think Daniel's departure would have made sense even if he'd been paying attention.</p><p>Pidge confirmed it. "Komora sa kye?"</p><p>"If that's Baltan for 'what the hell' I concur."</p><p>"That's exactly what it means."</p><p>Nodding, Sven focused on Blue's presence in his mind. <em>Is there something you should be telling me?</em> She just gave a low, knowing growl, and he sighed. Should've expected that, too. "Is your lion being any more forthcoming about what that meant than mine?"</p><p>"Of course she's not, why would—"</p><p>"DUDES!"</p><p>Both spun around to see their bomb tech approaching, a pair of what looked like dirt-covered fuel scoops slung over one shoulder. "Hunk," Sven acknowledged, fully expecting that things were about to get even more confusing.</p><p>Vince poked his head out from behind the big guy and waved; Pidge waved back, cursing under his breath as his eyes glowed briefly again. Though in Vince's current mood, he wasn't even going to object to that. Freaky eye glowing was better than <em>ghosts</em>.</p><p>Hunk's eyes glowed too, but he barely even stopped to take notice. "Yo, Viking, we gotta—" Then he paused a moment, looking at Pidge. Should he…? "I mean, uh—" No, ninja had just bonded, the <em>really</em> weird stuff had taken a couple days. "Look I <em>need to ask you some questions</em>, okay?" Without even missing a beat, he waved to Pidge, grabbed Sven's arm, and started to drag him off.</p><p>"Fuck," Sven sputtered, "you can't even let me walk like a…" He trailed off, realizing he'd been about to say <em>normal person</em>, and as if on cue his eyes glowed.</p><p>He let Hunk drag him.</p><p>Watching them go, Pidge took a moment to try to get his thoughts in order, which wasn't happening. So he exhaled slowly, then looked at Vince. "You want to yell or run around like a maniac or something?" It seemed to be the theme here.</p><p>Looking at his hands—there was sand under his fingernails, though <em>that</em> was hardly the main problem—Vince shook his head. "I want a shower."</p><p>Oh. "I don't think we have water." They'd really been too busy to worry much about <em>showers</em> since the ship's tanks had been emptied.</p><p>"…Fuzzmuffins."</p><p>It probably wasn't the time to ask about weird Earthling curses, but Pidge couldn't quite take it anymore. "What does that even <em>mean?"</em></p><p>"Um… uh…" Vince frowned, trying to think through it, and came to his answer quickly. "I don't wanna know what it means. It's a Hunk thing."</p><p>"Oh." That did explain <em>everything</em>. His eyes glowed again before he could say so. "Jalekya…"</p><p>"At least you don't have ghosts?" Vince offered, then paused again. Technically he didn't know that. "Or uh, do you? Hunk does now. Because of his lion."</p><p>Pidge blinked. "I have not had that yet, and I'd <em>better not</em>. I have enough to worry about with the monster wolves, kir sa tye?"</p><p><em>"You are more right than you know,"</em> Green purred.</p><p>…<em>Excuse me?</em></p><p>No answer. Of course.</p><p>Vince noted that Pidge had talking-to-lion face, and withheld comment until the ninja rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Monster wolves?" He had mentioned those, hadn't he? "Remind me to skip ever getting a tour of the forest."</p><p>"Good call," Pidge snorted; he didn't think <em>tours</em> were really a thing. "Anyway, we're not that far from the lake, we could probably drag the emergency tank over?" He wasn't sure that would be enough water for much of a shower, but the backup filtration tank they'd been using for drinking water <em>certainly</em> wasn't.</p><p>The thought of dragging a water tank all the way to the lake and back was not appealing, but the thought of not doing it was even worse. Vince sighed. "Yeah, okay. I really do need that shower… I had to bury Drules."</p><p>One of the ninja's eyebrows went up in a way that would've made Sven proud. "Why." Without waiting for an answer—he was pretty sure he'd get one anyway—he headed for the <em>Falcon</em> and its water tank access and started to hack the lock.</p><p>Vince followed. "Saw their ghosts in the desert. Hunk's lion told him if we buried their bones they'd find peace. It seemed better than not burying them, but <em>ugh</em>."</p><p>Thoughts drifting back to the castle tour, Pidge got a loud beep of protest from the lock and cursed under his breath. <em>Focus</em>. "I have questions," he muttered as he started the process over. "I am not going to ask them." He was certain he'd only regret it if he did.</p><p>"Uh, thank you for that." Vince didn't think it had really been for his sake, but his moms <em>had</em> raised him to be a gentleman. "I have a few too. Hunk had a lot, he shouted them."</p><p>"That sounds like him." The lock beeped and the access hatch opened; the emergency tank immediately rolled down a track on some wheel-like skids, and he jumped away with an indignant yelp.</p><p>Vince yelped twice as loud and came twice as close to getting run over, and he glared at the ninja as the tank settled in the grass. "I have already HAD A DAY!"</p><p>"Situational awareness doesn't care about your day, mechka!" That only got him glared at even harder, and he decided to worry about the tank. He gave it a tentative test push; to his surprise it moved pretty easily. "This won't be so bad. Do you want water, or do you want to glare at me?"</p><p>Green Lion was laughing. She was being pointedly ignored.</p><p>"I want water." That wasn't even a question. "I need to wash <em>Drule ghosts</em> off of me."</p><p>"Good priorities." They headed for the lake, and after a few minutes of awkward silence Pidge reminded himself he was meant to be <em>looking after</em> Vince. "So uh… how are you doing? Other than ghosts."</p><p>Other than ghosts. Right. There were other things happening around here. "Um, alright really, I think. I mean, trying to make the best of all the weirdness, you know? How are <em>you</em> doing? You've got the glowy eye and lion situation?"</p><p>"It's insufferable," the ninja snorted. Whether he was talking about the eye glow or the lion, even he wasn't entirely sure—though he felt like it was at least leaning towards the eye glow side of the equation, which got him another small purr from the lion in his head. <em>Don't tempt me!</em> She chuckled, and he sighed. In a broader sense the question couldn't be brushed off so easily. "…I'm not sure how I'm doing. It's all a bit much."</p><p>A bit much! "Yeah that's probably about how I am too, honestly. This is all too impossible."</p><p>"It's clearly not impossible."</p><p>Groan. "Well, yeah, but a month or two ago it was!"</p><p>That was not how possibility worked, Pidge was certain. But he took the point. "I think we had a failure of imagination."</p><p>"I've never really been known for my imagination," Vince admitted with a shrug. If he had been, maybe he'd have come up with a better explanation of his <em>sparking</em> back at the Academy and not ended up here at all.</p><p>That thought wasn't nearly as attractive as he might have expected. Through all the <em>what?!</em> that was happening on Arus, he was still holding out some hope for an answer or two of his own. And maybe hope was somewhere close to imagination, now that he thought about it…</p><p>"I do like the person who's doing the wiring to not just be making things up," Pidge said with a shrug of his own.</p><p>Vince laughed. "Yeah, same." That at least was fair. "Come on. Right now I'm just <em>imagining</em> how much I want that shower."</p><p>"Keep up, then."</p><p>Exchanging weak but genuine grins, they picked up the pace.</p><p>*****</p><p>Everything was red. Inside and out Lance felt like <em>fire</em>, Red's voice echoing in his bones. And he felt the names.</p><p>Knight of the Flame.</p><p>Paladin of Justice.</p><p><em>Firestriker</em>.</p><p>He took a few controlled breaths as the fire started to ebb away, and the world around him turned a bit less red. Just a bit. After all, he <em>was</em> standing by a mechanical red lion in a lava-filled volcano. His life was weird, but maybe it was time to call that his new normal?</p><p>His gaze landed on the lion's face and he looked into his penetrating eyes—could robots <em>do</em> that? Did Red seem more <em>alive</em> now that they'd bonded? <em>Fuck. Bonded</em>. It reminded him this was no normal robot. This was a magical being… what other words could explain it?</p><p><em>"You have questions."</em> The lion wasn't asking. Just as well, as his brain whirred with about a billion.</p><p>Knight of the Flame? What?</p><p>Paladin of Justice? Even more what.</p><p>Firestriker? Fucking awesome, but why?</p><p>He felt spent from the nightmares, the emotional conversation, his grief and his sense of wanting payback. Why did all that matter to his and Red's connection?</p><p>But despite all of that, only one question actually found its way out of his mouth, and it had little to do with anything else. Because as he took in the huge lion and touched that metal that made heat curl around him, he remembered something vitally important.</p><p>Red Lion was a <em>ship</em>.</p><p>"Can we fly? Can I fly you? How do—I mean—I want to fly you!"</p><p>The lion chuckled.</p><p>"Is that a yes?" He felt like a kid again, and memories of asking his father the same thing rolled through him. It hit the raw nerve of loss again, but he was with his lion now and he felt <em>fire</em>; it was under his skin, inside of him, and it promised him payback. Fuck, it was a lot. And what better way to help him process than flight? "I need to figure out how you fly."</p><p>Red offered a sense of apology. <em>"It is complicated, Firestriker."</em></p><p>"Shit, that name is fucking badass." He grinned, feeling smug for a moment, but shook that off. "What do you mean it's complicated? Why?"</p><p>Red chuckled again. <em>"The name is who you are, cub. As for flight, the first step is finding my key."</em></p><p>Lance nodded, remembering Hunk mentioning a snake guarding his. And hadn't Sven bitched about having to do more swimming? "I don't have to learn to dive into lava, do I?"</p><p><em>"No…"</em> The lion seemed to sigh heavily, struggling for words. <em>"I think I remember… the salamanders prevented its destruction. But it was lost."</em></p><p>"Lost?"</p><p>
  <em>"Now that you are my Bonded, you'll be able to sense its location. I believe it is within the Arusian castle."</em>
</p><p>"The castle?" Lance turned to look in the direction of the tunnel, but he got distracted by the fact that he was <em>inside a volcano</em>. Lava and heat blazed in every direction and it was…</p><p>…It was something that wasn't meant to be seen by human eyes, not like this, not by <em>standing</em> in it. And he felt the heat, he could see it shimmering in the air, but it just felt like a hot summer day and that was <em>impossible</em>.</p><p>"How?" he asked again.</p><p>
  <em>"I could not say."</em>
</p><p>"Would you if you could?"</p><p>Yet again the lion chuckled. <em>"We'll never know." </em>Lance snorted. <em>"My key, Firestriker. You must find it, then find your Pride once more."</em></p><p>"Pride?" Lance questioned before his own mind answered it. "The team?"</p><p>
  <em>"The Pride."</em>
</p><p>Lance nodded. He felt—he wasn't sure how to express it, but there were tears in his eyes as he inhaled the den's warmth. He felt spent and yet more alive than he had in a long time, and he closed his eyes again just to <em>feel</em> it.</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, focus, Firestriker."</em>
</p><p><em>The key</em>. He nodded again and looked up. "I'd say see ya, but you'll be with me the whole time, won't you?" He blinked at his own words; that was both heartening and a little freaky when he phrased it like that.</p><p>Red gave an amused snort.</p><p>With that Lance headed out of the volcano, back into the tunnels… but not without one last glance over his shoulder to take in the awesome view of his lion's den.</p><p>
  <em>His lion.</em>
</p><p>*****</p><p>There were places the castle tour had not gone. Mostly because they were in ruins and not very useful… or at least one of the two. 'Not very useful' was the one that applied to the parade balcony. But Larmina found herself heading there again now, with Romelle trailing behind. They needed to talk—they both knew that. Auntie was busy worrying about the big metal lions, and those probably should be a priority. But Larmina was still just on the edges of that, and she had other things to ask.</p><p>Being able to speak Arusian now was a relief, at least. "We've cleared the castle out as much as possible, but there's some artwork that doesn't exactly move."</p><p>"Oh." Romelle nodded slowly. "I'd like to see it?" That didn't feel like the correct answer, but she wasn't sure where this was going and felt the need to say <em>something</em>. And it wasn't inaccurate, in any case.</p><p>"Yeah, I'll bet. And I want some answers about it." Stepping through the crumbling doorway, she turned to face the stone reliefs she'd been contemplating when the offworlders arrived. It felt like that might have been significant, now… or maybe she was just assigning symbolism to things to try to make them make sense. "I don't really think you're going to <em>have</em> the answers, but we'll see."</p><p>Why were Arusians always wanting answers from her? It was the Polluxian condition, Romelle supposed. She stepped up beside Larmina and studied the weathered stones. "Wow…" The carvings were magnificent. A dozen stone panels depicting great, noble beasts… <em>lions</em>. One looked more worn than the others, perhaps older, and she gingerly ran her fingers over the five lions arrayed there. "…Alright. What do you want to know?"</p><p>Larmina indicated a different panel; several lions bowing before a grand, armored figure. "You said the lions were 'hidden'."</p><p>"I did. That's the tale that was passed down on Pollux." <em>More or less</em>. How <em>exactly</em> Voltron and the lions fit together was still unclear, but… she studied the panel and tilted her head. "Who is that the lions are bowing to?"</p><p>"That's the Radiant Warrior. According to what was passed down here… well, okay, let's start at the beginning." Larmina took a long breath. She <em>really</em> hadn't paid enough attention to her history tutor for this. "In ancient times Arus followed the Golden Gods, until a few thousand years ago when they were deposed by the Usurpers. When the Golden Gods took power back, they were going to punish the Arusians for their disloyalty, but the lions of the plains volunteered to be sacrificed instead." She nodded again to the panel. "Doesn't look so depressing there, huh?"</p><p>"No, it doesn't." Romelle touched the leader of the bowing lions; she couldn't say why, touching the stone wasn't giving her any further insight. At least it helped her focus her thoughts. "Very curious. But noble."</p><p>"Yeah. It's noble. But obviously we still have lions, and you said they were hidden. Not sacrificed." <em>Or are they the same thing?</em></p><p>Maybe she had to go into the nuances of this after all, Romelle decided. She didn't know what was or wasn't important. "Technically, Voltron was hidden. A robotic knight in the form of a lion, according to my people—but the robotic lions you have here are related to it somehow. It didn't belong to Arus, but Arus chose to hide it away from the Galra."</p><p><em>Voltron</em>. Larmina thought she might have heard Allura muttering about that recently, but couldn't be sure. The other unknown word there was actually more interesting. "What's a Galra?"</p><p>…<em>What</em> is <em>a Galra?</em> Romelle realized with a start that she didn't actually know. Not really. Pollux remembered them as an indomitable threat to be feared, but she didn't recall ever hearing much in the way of <em>detail</em>.</p><p>"Based on my lessons, I believe they must be a strong empire. Similar to the Drules, but not the same." The Earthlings had thought they were pirates; surely they couldn't be actively conquering worlds if the Alliance knew no more than that. Surely the old tales would have said something about their conquests. "They felt that Voltron was rightfully theirs, and they would stop at nothing to get it… my ancestors felt that it was far too dangerous to try to keep it from them, that at the least it shouldn't be hidden <em>here</em>. That belief is why they fled into exile."</p><p>Larmina listened carefully, putting things together, and brightened. "So—they're aliens?"</p><p>"Yes." Romelle allowed herself a brief grin; the subject matter didn't merit it, but Larmina seemed pleased with the information. That was a good sign.</p><p>Maybe 'pleased' wasn't the word she'd have used, but it was somewhere close. <em>It makes sense! Kind of. Sort of. A little.</em> "When the Golden Gods reclaimed their place… that was the <em>first</em> time Arus was invaded by aliens."</p><p>Romelle's eyes widened. "Really? Who?"</p><p>"We don't know. I mean, I didn't like history much but I don't remember ever hearing a name, that wasn't the point. The point was that we couldn't stop them, and the Usurpers couldn't stop them. But they were chased away by the Golden Gods breaking free of their prisons."</p><p>Things were starting to come together, at least in broad strokes. What was the truth, and what was myth or metaphor? That she had no way of knowing. "That sounds deeply disturbing," she murmured. "Terrifying, even."</p><p>"There's a reason we don't tend to question our gods," Larmina said quietly. "The war speaks for itself. Or at least we thought it did."</p><p>Looking at the panel with the Radiant Warrior again, Romelle grimaced in sympathy. "At least you were saved?" she offered hesitantly; what did one say to that?</p><p>"Yeah, we were. Until the <em>next</em> alien invasion came along."</p><p>…There was that. "Gods work in mysterious ways," she murmured. As if <em>she</em> were any expert, but… she'd had moments, hadn't she? "And so do many other things, if all the muttering from the Earthlings about wanting <em>answers</em> is to be believed."</p><p>Snort. "Yeah, I'll bet they do." She quickly tried to bite it back—scorning the offworlders was really as much reflex as anything anymore. She'd just given them a perfectly civil tour of the castle, for the Goldens' sake. But could she really be blamed for it?</p><p>Not by Romelle. That was for certain. But she felt the need to stick up for her team, too. "They do mean well. They want to help you save yourselves and your planet. Surely they aren't so bad, even if they are offworlders?"</p><p>"Yeah, I know, I know." Larmina sighed. "I'm getting used to them. At least a couple of them… and you, I guess." Romelle blushed a little at that. "But they're weird, and everything around here is a mess because of the <em>bad</em> kind of offworlders, so. You'll understand if I'm not really into the whole trust thing."</p><p>Truthfully, that hadn't started with the invaders, but she saw no reason to bring <em>that</em> up.</p><p>Trust wasn't something Romelle found particularly easy these days, either. "I understand."</p><p>…She probably did. A little bit. "I guess if I wanted to ask someone how the new batch of offworlders is different from the old one, you <em>would</em> be the right person, huh?"</p><p>"They are vastly different," Romelle agreed, and got a <em>look</em> in response. "What?"</p><p>"Now you're talking without saying anything, too." Larmina crossed her arms and glowered. "You should be a <em>lot</em> more flattered than you are that I'm actually trying to have a conversation with you, you know." She said it with a smirk, but it wasn't entirely a joke… because it wasn't entirely <em>wrong</em>.</p><p>Romelle was briefly taken aback, but then again… from what she'd seen of Lady Larmina so far, it did ring rather true. "I could tell you much more than you want to know about Drule culture," she said finally, "and how not one of these aliens would fit in with them at <em>all</em>. But in the end, they want to help you. The Drules want to own you." <em>And all of us.</em> "I would call that vastly different, yes?"</p><p>The young Arusian blinked. "I mean. When you put it like that…"</p><p>Allowing herself another small smile, Romelle pulled her jacket a little closer. The jacket that wasn't originally hers. "I would have taken any chance to get away from Korrinoth," she murmured. "But these… offworlders, aliens… these <em>people</em> went above and beyond for me. Bizarre as they seem, they are honorable. They're worth believing in."</p><p>Larmina considered that. Was the word of an estranged half-Arusian princess more or less convincing than the word of a bunch of robotic cats?</p><p>
  <em>Well, you've only spoken to one of those options yourself.</em>
</p><p>"I'll think on it," she said finally, nodding. "I'm not promising anything else."</p><p>Now it was Romelle's turn to blink in confusion. "That's all anyone can ask, I think." She wasn't sure she'd actually been expecting to break through with that. Or with anything, to be honest.</p><p>But she wasn't going to complain if it worked.</p><p>*****</p><p>Bag of supplies slung over one shoulder, sword over the other, Keith made his way to the outskirts of the castle grounds. He was already watching the distant peaks, less because he expected to learn anything new, more to prepare himself for the journey ahead. Discipline and calm were needed now.</p><p>For a moment he thought of the tunnels again. The mountains looked so daunting… but that was precisely why he had to challenge them. <em>This is the right way</em>.</p><p>Thunder Ridge. That was what Allura had called the ridge to the north, covered in constant storms. Or at least, almost constant. For some reason, today of all days, it was clear and bright. Not a single cloud to be found in the sky over those mountains. Was it an omen? And if it <em>was</em>, was it a good or a bad one? The weather would surely make his trip easier, but he was also searching for the Lion of <em>Storms</em>.</p><p>Mercifully, the lion was silent at that thought, but Keith could feel his presence lingering. Then again, that might be a good omen too.</p><p>Allura was waiting with a small cluster of guards; he recognized the knight, Miralna, but hadn't met any of the others. He was a little surprised not to see Sarial or Coran, truthfully. But he could also see why Allura might prefer not to have other Common-speakers present for a mission that was surely a secret.</p><p>"Princess."</p><p>"Keith." She smiled as he approached. "Right on time." They hadn't really set a time, but she hadn't been waiting long. And the sooner they got moving, the better.</p><p>Quick introductions were exchanged—the other guards were from what had once been the Castle of Lions' security detail, led by a Captain Randel. He looked sharp and businesslike. For a moment Keith thought about trying his hand at the Arusian greeting he'd heard before… annoyo? No, that <em>couldn't</em> be right.</p><p>"Anenyo," Miralna said with a smile, nodding to him.</p><p>He grinned back sheepishly. "Yes, what you said." Next to him, Allura giggled a little… wait. Giggled? Did princesses giggle? Apparently this one did. But they both sobered quickly. "I probably should have asked this before, but… how long do you think it will take to reach the trailhead?"</p><p>"A good part of the afternoon, so let's get started." Rather than leading them straight towards the mountains, she started moving east a little bit, towards the foothills. "We'll keep mostly to the woods on the way to the trail. The distance isn't great, but the terrain is rough."</p><p>"Sounds good." Keith glanced up at the sky. The lion had said these tests were necessary, somehow. In his nature. But with the threat of the Drules still lurking… "And safer."</p><p>As they entered the woods at the base of the foothills, the guards took up flanking positions. Allura pulled out a small device that looked like some sort of compass. Every so often she would consult it again, and change their course just slightly… Keith could hear a distant rush of water. The river that had cut the Thunder Ridge away from the main range, he assumed.</p><p>"Once we reach it, the trail you'll be on is mostly out in the open." She kept her voice low. Drules weren't the only potential threat in the wilds, after all. "It will split in two at a point near the base of the mountain."</p><p>Of course it would. "And I'll have to figure out which side to take when I get there, right?"</p><p>"In a way, but you will have some clue. A bush growing in an odd way sits in the split. It will guide you."</p><p>Keith arched an eyebrow. That didn't tell him much. "In an odd way?"</p><p>"Yes, an odd way." The princess frowned, trying to determine if there was more she could tell him. "It has been there for a long time, but its growth has been somehow stunted above ground. You will know it by the roots that spread out all around it, and on one side of the split, people passing by have left a groove in the path."</p><p>A stunted bush with a massive root system? Keith committed that to memory. "Maybe the storms have burned most of the top part away, and it's still growing back?" He wasn't sure why theorizing about <em>that</em> was where his mind had gone first, but so be it.</p><p>"Perhaps. It would make sense." She moved a little closer to him and lowered her voice still further; she was certain enough that none of the others could understand what she was saying, but she couldn't be too cautious. Not for this. "Both paths could lead you to him eventually, only with different degrees of directness. But I believe he has a preference."</p><p>A short warning growl stopped her from saying any more, and she wrinkled her nose in frustration. So close, but still she could only <em>nudge</em>.</p><p>Keith nodded, waiting for her to continue, but not entirely surprised when she didn't. He could feel the Lion of Storms watching him… "I guess I'll know it when I see it, then."</p><p>It would be enough. It had to be.</p><p>If there was any actual trail through the foothills themselves, Keith never managed to pick up on it. It didn't look as if the guards had a clear idea where they were going either. But the princess moved with confidence, still checking the compass every so often, and more than once leading them through a small gap in the trees that was hardly even visible until she drew attention to it.</p><p>The sun was just beginning to lower when they reached something new: a beaten path cut across in front of them, a little overgrown but still easily identifiable. "Ah, good." Allura felt her pulse picking up again, and forced her tone to remain even with some difficulty. "This part of the trail is an old hunting path. Up ahead there should be another intersecting it, and your path will lie just beyond."</p><p>Keith, too, felt his heartbeat quickening. "It's close, then."</p><p>"Very close." She looked up at him. He had to succeed, surely—the other lions had awakened, had <em>bonded</em>. The one she'd actually <em>seen</em> in her vision could hardly fail. "Are you ready for what you might find?"</p><p>"Ready?" A mix of anxiety and excitement colored the words. How did one get ready to climb a mountain to face some kind of sentient cat spaceship, exactly? "I'm not sure, but I will do my best. As we all have been."</p><p>Allura smiled. His voice held no arrogance, but complete determination. "Then your best it will have to be." For a brief stretch, the trail they were following became clear, and a second path snaked across it. Past the intersection, the ground began a distinct slope upwards. "This is your path. The trees won't clear for some distance yet, but it all starts here."</p><p><em>It all starts here</em>. Much more than a trail was included in that statement. "Alright," he breathed, forcing himself to remain focused and not start pacing along the path. "Is there anything else?"</p><p>She signaled two of the guards, who nodded and moved quickly up the path. "Give them a few moments to scout ahead, just to be certain." They couldn't be too cautious. "After that, it's all up to you. I wish you success."</p><p>There was so much more she wanted to say—she felt like she was bursting at the seams with it. <em>Go and claim what we cannot. Go and bring hope to the skies of Arus.</em> But none that she could voice. The Great Lion would test and judge this Earthling just fine without her putting any extra pressure on him… and still she didn't dare speak too freely in the presence of those who did not know the truth.</p><p>She just had to trust.</p><p>The guards returned and made their report; Keith detected a bit of worry in their tones. "What are they saying?"</p><p>"The skies are clear." Tapping her chin thoughtfully, the princess moved up a bit and peered through a gap in the trees. Sure enough, blue sky was visible. "That is odd. I don't think I've ever seen the skies clear here… even on the nicest days, it's always cloudy and on the verge of producing a new storm. I wonder if it means something?" <em>Lion of Storms, is this your doing?</em></p><p>She didn't expect him to answer—indeed, she didn't know if he could at this distance. Keith stepped up next to her and looked at the clear skies again; he'd known it was unusual, but he hadn't realized just how much so.</p><p>"It should hopefully make climbing easier, at least." He adjusted the weight of the bag on his shoulders and took a deep breath. <em>This is it.</em> "Guess I'd better get moving."</p><p>Allura nodded. "Go on. I believe in you." She wanted to tell him <em>Arus</em> believed in him—but most of Arus had no idea what was happening. Her belief was all she could offer.</p><p>He seemed to appreciate it, at least. She caught the flicker of a smile on his lips before he turned and forged ahead. And in silence, she watched until she could no longer see anything but the trees.</p><p>"…Okay." Standing here would do them no more good, so she motioned for the guards to pull back. "Let's go home."</p><p>
  <em>It's all up to him now.</em>
</p><p>*****</p><p>Burp.</p><p>"That's not good enough!" Daniel yelled, resisting the urge to slam his hand against a hard surface for dramatic effect. He had <em>just</em> gotten it treated—<em>again</em>. Being rough with it probably wasn't advisable.</p><p>Burp.</p><p>He growled and threw his hands up in frustration instead. He needed some answers, and these guys had seemed like his best bet. But apparently <em>not. </em>His salalizards, yes <em>his</em> salalizards, were lined up in front of him, prepped for questioning… and they were being remarkably unhelpful.</p><p>Kermi, after snapping at him for disturbing her, had decided to take a nap. Toast was just staring at him. Lizzie had lost interest the moment she realized he wasn't there to feed her, and Crouton was burping up a few smoldering embers in response to every question. Which would've been great, if he spoke salamander burp.</p><p>He wasn't sure what he'd been hoping for but it wasn't <em>this</em>.</p><p>"Okay, let's try this again." Daniel rested his hand against his forehead in frustration. "You guys supposedly 'belong'," he rolled his eyes at that, "to Lance's lion, right? Your species are his pets, or whatever. This means you guys have to know something, <em>anything</em>, about why the hell I felt that rush of heat. Which I'm assuming came from that lion because, you know. Fire lion, heat, they go together. I didn't imagine it, did I? No. No way. There was <em>definitely</em> heat. So what's going on? Am I connected to the lion too? Is that why you guys follow me around everywhere? You don't follow Lance like that." A different thought occurred to him. "Are you guys keeping tabs on me?" He felt a little betrayed at that thought, they were <em>his</em> salalizards!</p><p>Burp.</p><p>"…Whatever." He glared for a moment, then moved on. "All the lions already have pilots, why would the Pyro-Cat need <em>me?</em> Did any other non-lion pilot team members feel it? Or was it just me?" The salalizards probably weren't the best people—well, lizards—to be asking <em>that</em> question, but he was here now and he didn't think anyone else was hanging around the ship anyway, so…</p><p>Burp.</p><p>Daniel rolled his eyes. Crouton was trying to eat his embers. "Dude, stop—" Crouton began trying to eat the ashes faster; Daniel picked him up, bringing him to eye level. "You are going to make yourself sick. Stop." He just spit out a few more bits of glowing ash, and the exasperated gunner set him on the bed away from the pile of his burp by-product. "Come on guys, give me something! Some sort of indication other than burping up embers all over our room that <em>I'm</em> going to have to clean."</p><p>Burp.<br/>
<br/>
"For fuck's sake! You know, I expect this kind of nonsense from Lizzie, she's only here for the food, but the rest of you? I thought we had a <em>connection!</em> Well, maybe not you Kermi, but you let me pet you sometimes!" Daniel hung his head.</p><p>Kermi cracked open an eye to glare at his tone before shutting it quickly. Lizzie was scouring the room for bugs, ignoring him. Crouton burped again. Toast was still just staring.</p><p>
  <em>Fucking…</em>
</p><p>This was useless. If he wanted answers he was going to have to find them on his own, but how? Where was he supposed to start?</p><p>…Hadn't he been on his way to do something else? He shrugged that off. Lance and Keith weren't here anyway. What was here were questions. So many <em>questions</em>.</p><p>"Well," he mumbled to himself, "now you know how it feels to have weird lion shit happening to you. That's something. Right?" He shot a suspicious look at the salalizards. "Don't any of you dare burp at that."</p><p>Crouton <em>sneezed</em>, and he sighed. Great.</p><p>*****</p><p>"Am I being dragged anywhere in particular?"</p><p>Sven's mild curiosity, more so than any attempts he might have made to <em>protest</em>, finally got Hunk to stop dragging him. "Uh, not really. Not yet." They'd stopped at the <em>Falcon</em> just long enough for him to dump the makeshift shovels off by the landing gear, and since then it had just amounted to going somewhere they could talk privately. Which wasn't as hard as he'd been making it out to be, probably; they were in a huge empty <em>meadow</em>. Fine then. Crossing his arms, he gave the navigator his best interrogation face. "Have you been talking to water?!"</p><p>…For some reason, Sven was still capable of being surprised. Muted, but surprised nonetheless. "Do… do you <em>need</em> some water?" He reached up and put a hand on Hunk's forehead. "Are you having heatstroke?"</p><p>Hunk glowered. "Well I was a little warm earlier, weren't you?"</p><p>The blank stare Sven had been giving him turned into a very irritated one. "A little—a little warm?!"</p><p>"…What?"</p><p>"It was as if my insides were being boiled," he grumbled. "Litt varmt, <em>hmph."</em></p><p>The Viking abandoning English didn't seem like a good sign. His reason for doing so didn't sound great either. Though… Hunk paused. He was used to this by now; the warmth he'd felt on the way back had obviously been Lance bonding. And the last time someone had bonded…</p><p>"Okay. Waitasec. Remember how I almost got knocked on my ass by wind and you didn't?"</p><p>"…I do." Sven frowned. "I would have much preferred that."</p><p>No doubt. "Yella Fella," Hunk announced in a singsong tone, "we've got <em>more questions!"</em></p><p>
  <em>"There is a saying in your language that 'opposites attract', I believe."</em>
</p><p>Hunk reflexively started to say that hadn't been an answer, then cut himself off. Because after thinking about it for a few moments… "I uh, think Yellow actually just gave me somethin' as close to a straight answer as he gets." He started counting off on his fingers. "So I'm earth and you're—water in general, yeah? Ice hunting aside? Pidge is wind and now Lance is fire."</p><p>"That all sounds correct, yes."</p><p>"So," he gestured off to one side, "earth gets hit hard by wind," he made a similar gesture to the other side, "water gets hit hard by fire…" Now he was just flailing his arms wildly. "They're opposites! It's a thing that makes sense! I didn't think we had those around here."</p><p>…Huh. It did. "At least something makes sense," Sven muttered. "Daniel apparently felt the fire as well, not the way I did, but <em>still</em>. And Blue is not being forthcoming with answers, it's like the start of our relationship all over again."</p><p><em>"I cannot comment on the young cub's journey. It is his own."</em> Blue gave an amused purr. <em>"But I do apologize for the flame. As Earthwarder says, the connection to my brother is strong."</em></p><p><em>Brother?</em> That got his attention, but maybe it sounded familiar. Had she called the others her siblings before?</p><p>What could only be the lion version of a sardonic snort ran through his mind.<em> "You should listen better."</em></p><p>Easy for <em>her</em> to say.</p><p>"…Oh well that's good," Hunk grumbled, "we'd hate to have answers without havin' more questions right away. Yellow had some cryptic to say about Vince t—" He stopped. He'd gotten <em>distracted</em>. "Wait, that's just gonna bring me right back to what I was askin' before. Have you been talking to water?"</p><p>Though Sven's first instinct was to be a bit snippy, under the circumstances that seemed like a question he'd be better off taking seriously. "No, but I haven't really been around any water, either." After finding out about the fucking <em>tunnels</em>, returning to the lake had not felt like a priority. "And I'm not sure I want to talk to water?"</p><p>Hunk gave him a look. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it?"</p><p>"Maybe. I mean, water doesn't really end? It evaporates and then it rains down again, it would probably have a lot of knowledge to share." That did make it sound attractive. "Though that would mean water is sentient, and I don't… I've barely wrapped my head around a lion ship being sentient. I don't think I could take my glass of water talking to me."</p><p>…For someone who hadn't had this come up, the Viking sure seemed to have some <em>thoughts</em>. "It doesn't <em>talk</em> talk, exactly. Or not if it's rocks, it doesn't." That couldn't possibly have helped. "Apparently my lion lets me sense rocks and see dead people. And this just started comin' up, so I figured the next person to do the bonding thing was the one to ask if you're getting it too."</p><p>Sven blinked. "I don't want to see dead people."</p><p>"ME EITHER."</p><p>
  <em>"That is a particular talent of my brother's, Icehunter."</em>
</p><p>Again with the <em>brother</em>. But that seemed like a reassurance, so Sven decided to try being reassured. "Well, we're almost to the lake. Should we go and see if I can talk to water?"</p><p>"Yeah sure, let's do that." Misery loved company, didn't it?</p><p>It didn't take long to get there, and Sven looked out over the water and frowned. The lake really was pretty, when it wasn't being the <em>bane of his existence</em>—Blue gave a small growl of protest at that, and he changed his focus to the task at hand. "Alright, how did you talk to the rocks?"</p><p>How indeed? He hadn't been <em>entirely</em> clear on that himself. "I got close to 'em, and my eyes did the glowy thing and Yellow told me to focus, so I focused and touched the rocks and kind of… felt where they were?" Then the rest of the sequence dawned on him. "Then I blew 'em up and Yellow didn't object, so I don't think you hafta worry about your glass of water."</p><p>"That's good to know."</p><p>"Beats the alternative."</p><p>"I wasn't being sarcastic." Staring down at the water, Sven shook his head and tried to figure out how he was supposed to do this. <em>Any suggestions?</em></p><p><em>"Be calm,"</em> Blue purred.</p><p>That wasn't much of a suggestion, but probably better than no suggestion at all. "Be calm. Alright." He crouched and put his hand in the water, trying to relax his breathing. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and…</p><p>He could see beneath the water. No, he could <em>feel</em> it—he could sense the currents, following them up to the river that fed into the lake, swirling around the surface and beneath, and the trench that hid Blue's den was there…</p><p>Eyes flashing open, he yanked his hand from the water and took a few breaths to stabilize himself. "Alright."</p><p>"Dude." Hunk was gawking at him. The navigator's eyes had just been glowing <em>through his eyelids</em>. "That thing your eyes just did was <em>even freakier </em>than the usual."</p><p>He could imagine. "I don't know if talking is the right word, but there was definitely some sort of communication going on there."</p><p>"Oh, good." The big engineer gave an equally big sigh of relief. Whether this meant he wasn't crazy, or just that he wasn't the <em>only</em> crazy one, he wasn't quite sure—but it made him feel better either way.</p><p>Yellow growled in a way that felt slightly reproachful and amused at the same time.</p><p>"I would like a break from the weird," Sven declared finally, as the implications of communing with the lake or whatever he'd just done set in. "Correction, I would like a break from the confusion the weird brings with it."</p><p>"No kidding." But Hunk had taken Yellow's point, as well. He and Sven weren't the crazy part of this equation. The lions—and more to the point, the things the lions could <em>do</em>—were. "But I know one thing for sure. I'm startin' to get why the Galra want to find these cats so badly…" He grimaced. "And I think I'm pretty damn glad we came to get 'em before they or the Drules could."</p><p>"I agree." That was a sobering thought, and he didn't want to dwell on it. "Should we go see if Pidge can talk to wind?"</p><p>Hunk was also happy for the distraction, and chuckled. "I was thinkin' it takes a couple days to set in, but we can if you want."</p><p>"Can't hurt."</p><p>Turning and heading back to the <em>Falcon</em>, they were greeted after only a minute or two by a large… metal box?… appearing on the horizon. "Uh." Hunk cocked his head. The box appeared to be moving. "I know the local wildlife is weird, but…"</p><p>Sven felt one of his eyebrows shooting up. But he had a somewhat better angle than Hunk, and could see something stenciled on the side of the approaching box—not something he could actually read, but the language looked familiar. "I believe that is <em>our</em> wildlife."</p><p>Right about then it finished cresting the small rise, and they could see two pairs of boots between the wheel-skids. "Huh. Sure is."</p><p>"What are they doing?"</p><p>"I don't even try to guess what the ninja does, bro. Except poppin' up when you least expect him."</p><p>At about that moment, Pidge poked his head around the tank to see where they were going, and immediately stopped; next to him, Vince stumbled as the tank suddenly became much harder to push. "What?"</p><p>"We found something, or someone, water-related."</p><p>"Huh?" Looking around the other side of the tank, he saw Hunk and Sven approaching. "Oh."</p><p>"Hey, little dudes! Long time no see!"</p><p>"Need any help?"</p><p>"I need water so I can shower off ghosts," Vince said plaintively. "Got any help for that?"</p><p>Sven blinked. That was certainly a question. "Well, there's the lake…?"</p><p>"That's where we were heading." Pidge indicated the tank, then paused. "Do we need to ask your lion's permission before we take some water?"</p><p>…Also a question. A question he hadn't thought to ask, but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea. "I don't know, hold on."</p><p><em>"How is it that my </em>sister <em>has a cub with more manners?"</em></p><p>"That was unnecessary," Sven muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.</p><p>Blue didn't sound a bit chastised. <em>"They are welcome to my lake, but there is a waterfall that may be more useful to the cub for bathing."</em></p><p>It might, at that. "Blue appreciates your courtesy, we have permission to take some water, and she says Vince can use her waterfall."</p><p>Pidge couldn't help but think Blue sounded much more accommodating than Green; she purred in amusement. <em>"I assure you Icehunter would not agree."</em></p><p>
  <em>He hasn't met you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You haven't met my sister."</em>
</p><p>All Hunk was sure of was that Yellow was getting a real kick out of something. And all Vince knew was that a shower was closer than ever. "A waterfall? Where?"</p><p>"I can take you." Sven felt like he should be able to find said waterfall on his own—there were only so many places it could be, and he was a <em>navigator</em>. But he was also pretty sure that having Blue give directions would make things faster. No doubt Vince would appreciate faster.</p><p>"Awesome!" The engineer grinned, then quickly pulled back. "I mean, if you don't mind, it's probably faster than waiting for the tank and well… I <em>really</em> want a shower."</p><p>Sure enough. "I understand the urge."</p><p>"I thought you might, sir."</p><p>Hunk looked between them, grinned, and circled around the tank. "Okay, you two go do waterfall stuff. We'll get this tank filled up and back to the <em>Falcon</em>, yeah?" Without waiting for a response he gave it a little test push, nodded, then broke into a full run. "VROOM VROOM!"</p><p>"We'll—" Pidge started to object, or maybe just question, the plural part of that statement, but he was already gone. "I—what am I supposed to do? Make sure he doesn't fall in?" That would be an ill-fated endeavor, to put it mildly… but he had just been given an order. Sort of. He thought. "Well, happy showering, mechka?" With that he took off after Hunk.</p><p>Though amused, Vince had priorities and he wanted to get them done. "So? Waterfall?"</p><p>"Yes." Shaking his head, Sven started north, casting one last glance in the direction the others had gone. Maybe some things didn't actually change.</p><p>*****</p><p>It felt weird to step into the main portion of the castle again—he was different. It seemed like he knew some secret now that he'd found the tunnels, seen those odd shuttles, seen a <em>giant robot cat…</em></p><p><em>They're real, Flynn</em>.</p><p>Lance was tired. Thirsty. Hungry. But he had to find the key first. His eyes glowed at the thought, casting everything into a fiery shade of red, and he jumped a little bit. It felt bizarre. "How long will it take me to get used to that?"</p><p>
  <em>"Once the bondings are complete, there will be more control."</em>
</p><p>"I'll have control?"</p><p>
  <em>"There will be more control."</em>
</p><p>Uh huh. "Red… will you ever <em>not</em> be cryptic?"</p><p>He could practically feel the lion smirking, which he was <em>positive</em> a robot couldn't do. <em>"No."</em></p><p>Lance shook his head and looked around. He'd been moving a little on autopilot, and now he was near a main staircase. "Where do I go?"</p><p>
  <em>"Sense it. Use our bond, Firestriker."</em>
</p><p>Sense it? He almost closed his eyes, but the world went red again before he could. Instead he glanced around, allowing himself to adjust to the crimson cast of his surroundings. Inhaling slowly he tried to focus on the fire he felt around him, and his own instincts, which had always served him well before… he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise up as he focused on the staircase.</p><p>The world went back to normal color.</p><p><em>Couldn't have just said take the stairs, huh?</em> He snorted at that and started walking.</p><p>There was something familiar here—sensing, again, like he had not so long ago to find the lion. But this time he felt the thread between them, strong and clear, and his steps felt more confident as he walked through the castle. Taking in broken walls and rubble he shook his head; it was once a grand castle, and he wished he could have seen it whole. But hopefully someday soon he and the team could help the Arusians rebuild.</p><p>Turning a corner, he saw a door that was hanging off its hinges and felt a jolt of certainty. <em>There</em>. He walked toward it and stepped through, eyes widening at the sight that greeted him.</p><p>A library. At least his gut told him it had been, once. Now it was bookless; broken shelves were strewn over the floor, adding wood to the chunks of stone rubble. Anger rose up again at the destruction, and the possible loss of the books. Hadn't he heard something about the Arusians salvaging what they could from the castle? He hoped this place had been scavenged, that their literature and history weren't just dust.</p><p><em>The key</em>. His eyes went red again as he glanced around the wreckage.</p><p><em>"It's here,"</em> Red's gruff voice whispered in his mind.</p><p>Lance felt it too.</p><p>He walked toward the back of the room, where some of the shelves were still standing. It felt <em>wrong</em> to see them empty. He ran a finger through the dust and shook his head, reminding himself again of his promise to help Arus…</p><p>Something made him stop and step back. A glimmer of a feeling, an awareness of passing something by…</p><p>Looking back, he saw a statue of sorts, a bust seemingly embedded into the wall. A dignified-looking Arusian in a fancy cape, maybe a past king? He had no way of knowing what it meant. But he stared at it, running his fingers along the edges as his eyes flashed red again. It was significant, he <em>knew</em> it. Somehow.</p><p>What was he missing?</p><p>He heard a loud squeak, looked down, and saw Spork by his feet. "Oh, hi again."</p><p>The mouse squeaked.</p><p><em>"Ah…?"</em> Red sounded surprised.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>
  <em>"I believe he's been waiting for someone to come for the key."</em>
</p><p>Lance blinked and stared at the purple mouse; Spork peered back at him, twitching its whiskers. Then it raced up a shelf and jumped onto the statue, scurrying over the stone before seemingly pointing his body downward. Lance followed the mouse's gaze, went to his knees, and saw a crack between the statue and the wall. It would have been impossible to detect if he hadn't known where to look, but lowering his head a bit further he was able to look into the small opening.</p><p>He saw a glint of silver.</p><p>"Huh…" He carefully reached in, his fingers barely fitting, but with some persistence he managed to pull the metal disc out by his fingertips. It didn't look like a key as he knew them, but it was clearly the key to his lion. It carried Red Lion's insignia, and his warmth, and he stared at it in awe…</p><p>…Until he noticed Spork was doing a little dance around his feet.</p><p>"You've been guarding it?" he found himself asking; after everything else that had happened, that hardly even seemed strange. And he wasn't entirely surprised when Spork nodded. "How?"</p><p>
  <em>"Perhaps they found it and put it somewhere safe. The space mice of Arus are wise."</em>
</p><p>"How…?" Lance asked again.</p><p>
  <em>"I do not know how. They are… familiar. But I am cryptic to myself too—I've been asleep so long."</em>
</p><p>"Huh," he muttered again, and stared at the key for a few moments longer. "So, I have your key… but I still can't fly you, can I?"</p><p><em>"My awakening is incomplete."</em> Red seemed to struggle for words. <em>"Soon. When all have awakened…"</em></p><p><em>Soon</em>. Lance nodded slowly. They were close now, weren't they? "I'm holding you to that."</p><p>Red chuckled again, and he could feel the lion's anticipation. <em>"I assure you, Firestriker… there we are in full agreement."</em></p><p>*****</p><p>Keith felt he'd been walking for hours. If the sun's fading light was any clue, he really had been. His water container was still half full, but he still stopped and refilled it at a mountain creek as he passed; no sense in passing up the opportunity. He looked up at the peaks and the sky above. A few clouds were starting to gather, but it didn't look like anything too bad was moving in. Capping the container, he slid it back into his bag and continued on.</p><p>The sun was getting very low on the horizon. He frowned; he still didn't feel as though he'd reached the right mountain. More worrisome, he hadn't found the split in the path Allura had mentioned. Had he lost the trail somehow?</p><p>No, no… he couldn't second guess himself. Not now. "She did say it was a long path."</p><p>
  <em>"The path is long, but the journey is important."</em>
</p><p>He stopped as the lion's voice rumbled through him. "What do you mean?"</p><p>
  <em>"You will know in time."</em>
</p><p>Frown. "Will I ever get any answers?"</p><p>"<em>In time. You will need to find a place to rest.</em>"</p><p>"A place to rest?" He looked back to the lowering sun. "…I suppose you're right." Had starting out at this hour been the wisest choice? But it felt like he'd needed to…</p><p>The Lion of Storms growled low in his mind. <em>"It is a journey of more than miles, cub. I can spare you the storms, or the stars and the darkness. But one or the other you must face."</em></p><p>Keith blinked. Had the lion just said… "Are <em>you</em> why the skies are so clear? You can do that?"</p><p>
  <em>"We are connected to these lands."</em>
</p><p>That didn't exactly feel like an answer, but it wasn't entirely a non-answer either and Keith decided it would have to do for now. He kept walking, but his eyes swept side to side, keeping an eye out for a place he could spend the night.</p><p>
  <em>The stars and the darkness…</em>
</p><p>After about another two miles, the sun itself had vanished behind the peaks, leaving a sky that glowed orange and violet to guide his steps. And as he rounded a large boulder he saw a split in the path, with a very strange looking tree in the middle. It was growing at a nearly horizontal angle, pointing off to the left. To the right, he saw the thick mat of roots had been worn down by years upon years of travel…</p><p>He exhaled, more relieved than he cared to admit. "Guess I'm on the right track after all."</p><p>"<em>Did you doubt the royal cub?</em>"</p><p><em>Royal… cub?</em> He frowned, but put it aside and shook his head. "No." It wasn't <em>her</em> he'd been doubting. "I just was worried. It's been a long way where I could have taken a wrong turn…"</p><p>The lion purred softly.</p><p>He looked back to the sinking sun and back to the odd tree. Allura had said either trail might take him where he needed to go eventually, but that the lion had a preference… closing his eyes, he concentrated on the question and felt a glimmer of certainty. The well-traveled path was not the one he was meant to follow. Else why would he be here at all?</p><p>Carefully walking around the tree, ducking beneath the branches that stretched over the left side of the trail, he saw the path ahead becoming steeper and more cluttered. It didn't take much to understand where he was now—beginning to scale the mountain proper.</p><p>The sunset was fading, the pinpoints of distant stars replacing the vivid colors. He went as far as he felt was safe, and might have pressed further—but the lion had told him to rest.</p><p><em>But I have to go on. I have to get there, no matter what it costs me.</em> He felt a slight sense of rebuke. <em>Or do I have to take care of… myself?</em></p><p>Another mile or so, and dusk had fully settled; he made his decision. Stumbling into some dark canyon wouldn't serve his team or this world. Sheer rock faces rose up around him, and he squinted through the last vestiges or twilight. "Well, maybe I can find a spot here for the night."</p><p>He carefully paced along the path until he saw a small hollow, and an overhang behind it. Not fully enclosed, but it seemed reasonably sheltered and dry. <em>Okay</em>. Nodding, he dropped his bag and gathered some brush from the trail—if he could avoid building a fire here, he would, but he had no idea how cold these mountains might get.</p><p>Settling in, he stared out at the sky. The storm, or the stars. What did it mean? It felt significant, but he had no way of understanding.</p><p>Not yet. But he was finally on the path.</p><p>He wouldn't fail.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Knight of the Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sleep hadn't come easily. Keith had napped more than anything, and ventured onto the path again at the first hint of light. No more time for himself than absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>He could tell no one had walked this trail in ages, if the broken limbs, overgrowth, and the occasional washout of the soil were any indication. Thankfully it wasn't completely impassable—well, so far, at least. As the colors of sunrise filled the sky, the trail was starting to get steeper. He pushed through a tight spot of vegetation, and stopped short when he made it through to the other side.</p>
<p>"Oh, <em>this</em> will be fun."</p>
<p>The trail before him had pretty much been washed out, sliding down into a deep ravine. He could see a narrow ledge—a matter of inches of flat ground before the side of the mountain rose up—that he might be able to use to get across… no other options. Keeping as close to the hill as he could, he began to slowly make his way around the washout.</p>
<p>Slow. Careful. One step at a time. The way he might have preferred, if also the way he hadn't been <em>able</em> to do things for what felt like forever.</p>
<p>"Almost there…"</p>
<p>As if on cue his foot slipped on the edge, a bit of soil crumbling away. With a startled yelp he clawed at the dirt, finally managing to grab the root of a tree that jutted from the slope. Clinging to it, he paused, catching his breath first and foremost. Then he carefully got his footing back before pulling himself back onto the trail on the other side. Looking back over the edge, he grimaced. It was a long ways down. <em>Straight</em> down, really.</p>
<p>"That… could have hurt," he whispered, letting the understatement calm him. Yes, hurt, that was it.</p>
<p>Another cliff entered his thoughts as he stared down into the abyss. Jutting rocks, an angry ocean below…</p>
<p>—"Cadet Kogane."</p>
<p>Keith looked up from the book he was taking notes from and saw a pair of officers. He jumped to attention and saluted. "Yes, sir?"</p>
<p>"At ease, Cadet. Please, sit. We're here on official business."</p>
<p>Just as he went to sit back down, he noticed their badges. One was a chaplain, the other… he swallowed hard. The other officer was a Casualty Assistance Calls Officer.</p>
<p>He'd asked before truly thinking it through. "Who… died?"</p>
<p>The one officer nodded gravely. "Cadet, I regret to inform you that both of your parents…"</p>
<p>Dread and horror washed over him; he barely heard anything else the two officers were saying. He slowly sank back into his seat, the two officers sitting in chairs opposite him. His ears seemed to be ringing and he felt numb.</p>
<p>Soon after that conversation, he found himself packing for an impromptu trip. His roommate Matthias was actually doing most of it, after he'd realized he was just tossing random things into the bag.</p>
<p>"Sit down, Keith. I got this for you."</p>
<p>Had he ever been able to sufficiently thank him for that moment? He'd certainly tried. Probably not good enough.</p>
<p>The flight to Vancouver had been long and silent, lost in his thoughts. The things he hadn't heard were all finally sinking in. His mother had collapsed at work, rushed to the hospital with an undiagnosed tumor. His father had rushed to her side, or tried to, anyway. But in all his haste, he'd never made it.</p>
<p>They'd passed on the same day.</p>
<p>He was met by several close family friends at the airport who had already begun working on the funeral arrangements. It was the first time he really wasn't sure what to do, what he would need to do. This was something he wasn't prepared for—but who was ever prepared for death?</p>
<p><em>He</em> was the one going into the military. They weren't supposed to be the ones who had to worry about dying too soon!</p>
<p>The funeral was a blur. Handshakes and hugs from friends, colleagues and coworkers of his parents as they filed past him and the graves on that cold, rainy day. He'd managed to not cry, his military bearing winning out. He took the rain as a sign that if he couldn't cry, nature would do it for him. For the best, really. Always for the best.—</p>
<p>Keith shook himself from the memory, finding that he'd slumped down onto the ground. There was a rock in his hand that he'd picked up for some reason. He bit his lip and lightly tossed the rock aside, trying to get back to his feet. To keep moving.</p>
<p>Yet his thoughts weren't ready to stop drifting back.</p>
<p>The rock tumbled down into the ravine, hitting a few other jutting stones with a light, chiming sound. Normally he would have thought nothing of it. But he watched it fall, imagining that riverbank in Vancouver, hearing the chime of the bell that he'd put on his bike later on. A slightly damaged bell…</p>
<p>—In time he'd gone to the police to deal with the impounded wreckage of his dad's motorcycle. It wasn't even recognizable. They'd shown him diagrams and told him where and how it happened, and it had hit as hard as the funeral itself. It had been raining then, too. A car had skidded on the wet pavement. His dad had swerved to avoid it, hit the guardrail, and then…</p>
<p>He'd had to excuse himself before it was done.</p>
<p>And it had been raining the day he'd finally seen the site. The movers had been packing up at his parents' house and he couldn't stand it anymore, there were too many memories. He needed to get away from it for a while.</p>
<p>He had not.</p>
<p>Driving without any destination in mind, he found himself on the road by the water. Maybe his subconscious had brought him there. Maybe it really was coincidence. Either way, part of him screamed to turn around. To spare himself. But of course he hadn't done that.</p>
<p>He'd pulled to the side of the road and climbed from the vehicle, ignoring the pouring rain. Crossing the road, he paused before the dented guardrail, touching a scrape of paint. His throat tightened.</p>
<p>"Dad…"</p>
<p>Ripping his eyes away from the guardrail, he'd looked past it. Jagged rocks littered the side of the cliff and rose from the water below.</p>
<p>Keith closed his eyes and sank down to his knees, resting his head on the hand that was gripping the metal rail. He couldn't bring himself to care that he was getting soaked. Why should he? He'd lost too much here.</p>
<p>And yet, his other hand had touched something beneath the guardrail. What felt like a muddy rock, but the surface was too smooth and regular for a rock. Picking it up, he'd wiped the mud aside and gasped softly at the gleam of silvery metal. It was the safety bell from his dad's bike—the one he and his mother had picked out for his birthday one year when Keith had been young. His father had been so excited to get it…</p>
<p>And that, at last, had been when he'd cried.</p>
<p>The one time.</p>
<p>He had cleaned the bell off when he got home, installed it on his own bike. A piece of his father, with him whenever he rode. And then he'd wandered the empty rooms one last time, falling asleep on the living room floor, before returning the next day to the Academy and his duty.—</p>
<p>He shook himself out of the memory much harder this time. <em>Stop it, Kogane! You have a job to do</em>.</p>
<p>Keith slowly got back to his feet and looked back up the trail, adjusting the bag he was carrying on his shoulder for what seemed like the hundredth time. There was no <em>time</em> for this! He needed to get moving. Too much was at stake.</p>
<p>For this whole journey he'd been feeling the Lion of Storms' presence, watching him. He'd felt the lion's approval at his coming this way, braving the difficulty of the mountain path, but now it felt confused as to why he was forcing the memories back. Why the confusion, though? It seemed so clear to him. <em>I don't have time to grieve. Not now.</em></p>
<p>No words came to him. No verbal question from the lion. It surprised him and also didn't. Hell, he still wasn't completely sure he believed that what he was feeling and hearing in his head was real, even when the others had been hearing the other lions. Of course now they were outright 'bonded', so he couldn't just be crazy. Probably. <em>If I am, they are too.</em></p>
<p>No. He was the last one. He couldn't question this, and he sure as hell couldn't fail. This planet <em>needed</em> these lions to awaken again. If they didn't, Arus was likely doomed and his people along with it.</p>
<p>Cursing softly in Japanese at some scorch marks on the stones ahead—no doubt from the Drules' first arrival—Keith started up the overgrown path once more.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Coran was taking in the view from the parade balcony again. A very <em>unusual</em> view, today… it could be a bit disconcerting, given what he knew, but the rare sight of the sunrise breaking over Thunder Ridge was quite beautiful.</p>
<p>Coming up behind him, Allura found herself thinking the same thing, and more. What the light signified here was anything but disconcerting to her. Only encouraging.</p>
<p>"Hello, Princess." He raised his mug of vehka brew in greeting.</p>
<p>"Hello, Coran." She smiled, leaning over the rail, watching the rays of light pour over the mountain peaks. "Isn't it fascinating?"</p>
<p>"Is what fascinating?" Several things could fit that category; he could guess, but not be certain, which she might be referring to.</p>
<p>"The Great Lions…" She looked to the sunrise and exhaled slowly. "I can almost feel it already. What my father hoped to accomplish—to awaken them, to protect Arus—it's so <em>close</em>."</p>
<p><em>It's so close</em>. Coran sipped his drink. "It is very exciting," he agreed a little delicately. He still had his reservations about the whole thing, but he wasn't going to ruin her mood with his caution just now. It wasn't that he was <em>not</em> hopeful—just that he'd have liked a little more concrete information backing it. "I don't know that fascinating is the word I'd have chosen, but you are more familiar with the lions than I. What do you find so… fascinating, in particular, about this?"</p>
<p>Perhaps it was a fair question. "I've always known them to sleep," she murmured. "Even before the Drules came, they were so different from anything else, so… magnificent. The thought of someday seeing them moving, even <em>flying</em>, was the stuff of dreams. To have it become reality in our darkest hour… it fills me with hope." She tilted her head. "And curiosity as to what they can do."</p>
<p>It had always simply been an article of faith that the Great Lions could protect them. Allura still had no doubt of that. But precisely <em>how</em> that would work had not played much into her dreams, beyond the thought of Black Lion soaring in the sky…</p>
<p>Coran nodded. "I <em>am</em> interested in that, also. You say we are close." He knew what lay hidden within the Thunder Ridge, and felt certain the clear skies were no coincidence. "Is there only the one lion remaining?"</p>
<p>"Yes. And after that…" She took a long breath, then shook her head slightly. "No, I can't get ahead of myself. I feel like it's taking everything I have not to get <em>too</em> excited. Arus must become safe, first, but I keep thinking of all the things I'm going to want and need to <em>do</em>."</p>
<p><em>Hmm</em>. "Like what, Your Highness?"</p>
<p>"Rebuilding… and that alone is so much. Securing resources, reestablishing diplomacy, we'll surely have to find new trade partners." She nibbled on her knuckle; improper, but surely she was entitled to a nervous tic or two under these circumstances. "Bringing the people back out into the open—there are so many factors right there! They've suffered so much."</p>
<p>Now that was interesting. Allura had become an exceptional leader of wartime refugees; she could have been forgiven if thinking of more <em>normal</em> royal duties hadn't even yet occurred to her. But it sounded as if her head was spinning with them. It had to be a good sign…</p>
<p>Less so was the thought coming to the front of his own mind. One he hadn't been particularly keen to share with her, but there would be no better time than now. "Princess… about the people."</p>
<p>Immediately her gaze focused on him. "Oh?"</p>
<p>"I'm not sure how… accepting they will be of all this." Coran chose his words carefully. "I'm certain they will be grateful for the rescue, but the offworlders are a lot to handle… and the lions are hard to understand, if not an outright mystery." He'd been one of the few King Alfor shared any information with, and yet was one hundred percent certain even <em>he</em> understood very little.</p>
<p>The princess hesitated, a small frown crossing over her face. "Hmm. I take it the stories of the Great Lions are not told so much in other parts of Arus?" She tried to imagine the perspective of another, someone without her lifelong fascination with the lions or even the Crown Province's old legends.</p>
<p>"They are not, no." Coran had been deployed to several other provinces in his time with the Golden Knights; indeed, the High King had often valued that experience as much as any other advice he could offer. "But even here the lions are just legends, and not always the most hopeful of legends." Almost unconsciously, he found himself turning back to the stone relief of the lions bowing to the Radiant Warrior. "It's possible that not everyone will react with enthusiasm. Some may be grateful, some afraid, some even distrustful."</p>
<p>…It all made perfect sense. All she really had to do was look at Larmina to see the truth of his words. "Mmm…" She clasped her hands behind her back and faced the mountains again, wondering what progress was being made as they spoke. "So there will be work that must be done. Reassuring the people, convincing them to trust the lions. And their pilots, no doubt." It was a little bit disheartening, that the Great Lions that were meant to save Arus might still be looked upon with skepticism… but a fair concern nonetheless. Her own love for them would surely help with that.</p>
<p>Coran blinked. "Yes, I believe so." She'd accepted that far more easily than he'd expected; usually any kind of advising her to be <em>cautious</em> didn't go over very well. Truthfully he wasn't quite sure how to react to being listened to so readily.</p>
<p>"Well, we can do it." Determination filled the princess' eyes. "We may have to figure out precisely how as we go along, but I believe we can bridge this gap."</p>
<p>"Yes, this is probably one of those situations where we… what do the Earthlings call it? Oh yes. 'Wing it'."</p>
<p>"Wing it?" Allura echoed. "Very interesting saying…" She'd have said something more insightful, but was distracted by a feeling of being watched. The feeling wasn't physical. No, they were being watched by someone—a soft growl from the mountains told her that.</p>
<p>"Yes, it means to do something without practice or preparation. I quite like it. Though I do prefer to be prepared, after all…" He continued on a mild lecture—some might have called it a rant—about the importance of preparedness, but the princess was no longer listening.</p>
<p>
  <em>Lion of Storms, is something wrong?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"No, royal cub. I only felt you should know that the one I have called is nearing the top of the mountain."</em>
</p>
<p>Allura's eyes lit up. <em>That is wonderful news—is there anything more I can do?</em> She expected to be told no. After all, she'd only ever been able to nudge.</p>
<p>Instead, the lion paused a moment. <em>"Perhaps, if you would… go and check on the artifact your father once wore. It would be troublesome if it were to become lost again."</em></p>
<p>The artifact? Thoughts of her father's pendant raced through her mind. Of course. What significance it might hold now, she didn't know, but <em>she</em> had trusted the lions this far. No time to stop. <em>I will. May you fully awaken soon, Black Lion.</em></p>
<p>Feeling his presence retreat, she suddenly realized Coran was still talking.</p>
<p>"…very little that happens in a day that <em>can't</em> be anticipated or prepared for, but oftentimes you don't know that you need to be prepared for it. Perhaps that's why the Earthlings devised a specific phrase for the purpose…"</p>
<p>"Coran." She put a hand on his arm and leaned in a little, not exactly hugging him, but at least invoking the gesture. "With all these thoughts, with how close we are to the last of the lions awakening, I'm feeling I ought to go spend a bit of time alone with my father and brother."</p>
<p>The old advisor blinked. "Oh! Of course, Princess." He'd kind of been talking to himself by the end of that anyway, admittedly.</p>
<p>She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Coran." Giving his arm a quick squeeze of gratitude, she departed for the crypts.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>It felt like about mid-morning when Keith broke out of the treeline onto a broad terrace. He looked up at the sun, then sat down on a rock and pulled out his water container, taking a long drink. It was getting rather warm today already, and he wasn't sure just how much further he had to go. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he looked up at the sun again, gauging his position more carefully, then his eyes went to the meadows in the distance. The valley between this and the next slope over. The view was impressive from up here—he could see for miles in some spots. If one overlooked the obvious damage the Drules had caused, it was a truly beautiful world…</p>
<p>He tore his gaze away from the valley below and looked up to the snow-covered peak. <em>Focus</em>. "Long way to go, yet, Kogane, and you're wasting daylight." He got back to his feet and moved on, thankful at least that the path seemed clearer up here.</p>
<p>What came next, for a moment, made the ravine almost seem safer.</p>
<p>Rounding a bend in the trail, he stopped cold in his tracks. Perhaps twenty feet away stood a creature he'd only ever seen as a myth in old books back on Earth. Black and white feathers and fur, four legs, broad wings, and obviously towering over him despite the distance.</p>
<p>"A gryphon…?"</p>
<p>He swallowed and reflexively reached for the gun that… he didn't have. The weight of the sword across his back was suddenly very prominent in his mind, but would he be able to draw it fast enough? The only other option, and possibly faster, was the knife on his belt. He slowly reached for it as the creature stared at him with crisp, clear blue eyes.</p>
<p>The gryphon squawked and ruffled its wings slightly, watching him. Its gaze went to the knife as if it knew what it was, and he could've sworn it seemed somehow reproachful.</p>
<p>Keith hadn't really gotten his hand on the weapon anyway; he was still busy staring. He'd heard the others mention something about animals watching over the dens of the others: the banewolves, firebombing vultures, Daniel's salalizards, something called a gorca. Was <em>this</em> what guarded the Lion of Storms?</p>
<p>He heard the lion purr in his mind.</p>
<p>…<em>Okay, I'm going to trust you.</em> He had come this way for a reason. <em>I hope I'm not going to regret this</em>. He let go of the hilt of his knife and gave a slight bow to the beast.</p>
<p>The gryphon cocked its head to one side, then bowed slightly in return. With another rustling of wings, it turned and moved up the steep path.</p>
<p>Had that been it? A test? Keith watched it go for a few moments; after traveling another twenty feet or so, it turned back and squawked. When he still didn't move, it squawked at him again, this time somehow sounding irritated.</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>.</p>
<p>"Uh, yeah. I'm… I'm coming," he murmured, moving with something less than complete alacrity to follow it up the path. Shaking his head slightly as it gave a squawk of acceptance, he whispered, "They did <em>not</em> cover this in basic training."</p>
<p>The path was becoming ever steeper, and some of the rocks were slippery; the lack of rain in the sky didn't mean the ground up here was fully dried. He slipped and went down once, wincing at several cuts on his hands and a gash in his pants, but quickly got back to his feet. He slipped again a few steps later—the path was becoming more loose stone than anything. At least this time he managed to keep his footing.</p>
<p>The gryphon paused, watching him with what he felt was a very <em>judgmental</em> stare, and he grimaced. First a lion was judging him and now a gryphon. "I know, I'm slow. I'll get there. We don't all have talons and wings, you know?" He was rewarded with a harumph-like growl.</p>
<p>It was another long stretch of slipping, sliding, and cutting himself on loose stones before the gryphon stopped and loudly squawked again, but this time it wasn't facing him when it did so. Keith looked up at the steep cliffs surrounding him and his eyes widened. Several other gryphons, in varying shades of brown and gray, were appearing from various hidden perches above the path. A slight feeling of dread slid down his spine as he wondered if he'd just willingly walked into their nesting area to be tonight's dinner.</p>
<p>No. He had to trust in this journey he'd undertaken, he <em>had</em> to… he'd come too damn far not to.</p>
<p>He looked around at the faces of the new griffons, and they stared at him with what he hoped was just curiosity. A few began to chatter back and forth with his guide in a series of growls and chirps. It went on for a couple of very anxious minutes before his guide raised both of its wings and let out a loud roaring squawk, silencing the others.</p>
<p>For an instant, the mountain seemed to become deadly silent.</p>
<p>Keith heard it then. A soft growl, almost a purr. A rumbling sound like thunder. It was close, he could feel it as the static he associated with this lion slid over his skin and down his spine. It was the sound he'd sensed in the back of his mind so many times, the sound he'd felt, but now for the first time he truly <em>heard</em> it.</p>
<p>The first gryphon looked at him and squawked, nodding its head towards a path that ran a bit further up the peak. It seemed to lead into a stretch of shadow and pure darkness between the rocks. A cavern?</p>
<p>"Up there?"</p>
<p>Squawk.</p>
<p>Keith exhaled slowly and nodded. "Guess that's a yes." He slowly walked through the nesting area, looking at some of the other gryphons in fascination. He shivered as a couple of the adults he passed ruffled their feathers and squawked harshly at him. Encouraging him to move faster? He wasn't sure. A few of the young ones chirped as he passed their nests, and he nodded to them with a faint smile. They were downy and fluffy and kind of cute, if they weren't in fact going to be eating him.</p>
<p>The trail brought him to a short ledge, and sure enough, a huge cavern opening that seemed almost like an endless stretch of void space. He was reminded of the lion's words overnight, about facing either the storms or the darkness. Pausing for a moment, Keith turned back to the gryphons. They all were looking up at him expectantly, arrayed so that they were blocking the trail.</p>
<p>"…Right. No turning back now."</p>
<p>He climbed up to the ledge, faced the cave, and slowly walked into the darkness.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>
  <em>Return to your Pride.</em>
</p>
<p>It was echoing in Lance's head as he made his way back from the castle. Had he gone back to Red's den after retrieving his key? Yes. Had he insisted on getting a look at the lion's cockpit? Oh yes. Had he tried, with no success whatsoever, to convince the lion one little flight wouldn't hurt anything? Fuck yes.</p>
<p>Had he spent another night in the volcano, on purpose this time, until a highly amused Red Lion woke him up and told him to leave? Obviously.</p>
<p>Now he raced up the <em>Falcon's</em> boarding ramp and to the common room, his eyes flaring red as he stepped off the elevator. "Hey, fellow glowsticks!"</p>
<p>Hunk jumped up from the couch. "Yo! Glowtorch!"</p>
<p>"Dude. I was FIRE."</p>
<p>Sven had looked up with significantly less exuberance, and narrowed his eyes. "You lit <em>me</em> on fire."</p>
<p>"Huh?" That was something Lance felt like he should remember doing. "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"I mean, you bonded and in response my body tried to boil itself."</p>
<p>Smirk. "Aw, did I light your fire?"</p>
<p>Off to the left, Pidge had poked his head out of the bunkroom where he'd been trying—unsuccessfully—to get some straight answers out of Green. Upon hearing that, he promptly shut the door again. <em>Not getting in the middle of </em>that<em>.</em></p>
<p>Not that he was going to get away with it. As Sven seriously considered, for the first time in his <em>life</em>, pulling rank on someone and demanding about a million burpees, Hunk went over and pushed Pidge's door back open. "Oh no ya don't, ninja. We've got questions for you, too." That seemed to be where this was going…</p>
<p>Pidge glowered. Emphatically. But he didn't refuse.</p>
<p>The commotion had drawn some other attention. Romelle had been in her room in the castle again, thinking over what she'd learned lately, and had followed Lance back when she saw him out her window. Vince had been flopped on his bed hoping to delay today's <em>weird</em>, but clearly that wasn't happening, so he headed out to see what was up.</p>
<p>Lance looked around at the gathering team. "Anyone seen the kid?"</p>
<p>"Not yet?"</p>
<p>"I'm here." Daniel had, in fact, been on his way out of his room—it was just hard to fumble with the door while he was holding Toast at eye level and trying again to demand <em>answers</em>. "We're not done with this conversation," he whispered as he placed the salalizard on his head; the other three trailed out behind him.</p>
<p>Lance grinned at the voice, but it immediately turned into a frown as he actually got a look at the kid. "What the fuck happened to you?" His eyes flashed red again.</p>
<p>"What do you m—" The glow cut Daniel off. It really was <em>fiery red</em>. "—That's kinda awesome."</p>
<p>The grin returned. "Fuck yeah it is, my name's Firestriker, wait—did you get in a fight with a boar-cheetah or something?" Surely Arus did not have <em>those</em>.</p>
<p>"Firestriker, cool!" Looking down at his hands, Daniel realized he wasn't getting out of this and made a face. "No, no uh, boar-cheetah. I just had an altercation, and if we could talk about it <em>later</em> that would be great." There was no reason <em>everyone</em> needed to know he'd lost a fight with a tree.</p>
<p>Lance gave him a look, his eyes glowed again, and he decided to let it go. For now. "Okay, but that conversation <em>will happen</em>."</p>
<p>"He's being kinda mentor-y, don't you think?" Hunk whispered to Pidge, who responded with a deadpan scowl. He wasn't getting in the middle of <em>that</em>, either.</p>
<p>"Yeah, fine. Look, it's fixed, that's the important part. Is your lion awesome?"</p>
<p>A fix was good, and probably the best he was going to get right now. "Red is fucking awesome. Still a cryptic bastard, though—" Red growled slightly at that, "—but wait until you see the cockpit!"</p>
<p>Daniel winced a little at that; it kind of felt like that was just dangling candy right in front of his face, but he also had kind of asked for it. "Can't wait." <em>Be positive!</em> He glanced back at his salalizards. <em>You've got a mystery to figure out and… apologies to make.</em> No reason for everyone to hear about that, either.</p>
<p>Mercifully, Hunk chimed in on that. "Yeah, the cockpits are great. Just close enough to Alliance standard to tell it's a cockpit, not close enough to figure out what much of anything actually is…"</p>
<p>"You're telling me," Sven snorted, and felt Blue chuckle.</p>
<p>"I haven't seen mine yet," Pidge admitted, and briefly wondered why he hadn't seen that as a higher priority. His mind went back to what little cross training he'd had. "I hope there aren't too many pedals." Fractal cockpits weren't really built for Baltans.</p>
<p>"They aren't bikes, ninja." Lance shook his head and remembered that he was the only person here actually excited about flying, except maybe Keith—where <em>was</em> Keith, anyway? No, he could make a pretty good guess at that answer. "I've got a few ideas about the controls, on mine at least, they're all probably pretty similar aren't they? I tried to get Red to let me stick the key in but he said he's not awake enough yet."</p>
<p>"I vote you figure everything out and then tell the rest of us," Sven suggested.</p>
<p>"Know what," Hunk countered, "I vote we talk about stuff that ain't the piloting, if the lions don't wanna talk about the piloting, because guys—what the FUZZMUFFINS."</p>
<p>"What he said."</p>
<p>"Yeah, a lot of fuckity-fuck going on."</p>
<p>Romelle, Daniel, and Vince exchanged bemused looks, but didn't say anything. Romelle felt almost comfortable with all this team's weirdness by now, and Daniel would be relieved to talk about something that wasn't piloting.</p>
<p>Vince wanted popcorn.</p>
<p>"None of that narrows anything down," Pidge muttered, and was rewarded with Hunk rounding on him.</p>
<p>"Okay, you first then!" He'd gotten out of it yesterday, they'd been distracted with water. "Have you been talking to wind?!"</p>
<p>One of the ninja's eyebrows slowly went up, and he had the distinct impression Green Lion was laughing. Or crying. With laughter. Could robots do that? He hoped not.</p>
<p>"Talking to what?" Lance asked blankly. Clearly he'd missed something here.</p>
<p>Sven shook his head, but he wasn't really sure how he could have asked it any better. "Wind," he explained. "You're too new, but I'm assuming you'll be able to talk to fire sooner rather than later."</p>
<p>Pidge finally found words. "…Should I have been? That doesn't seem productive."</p>
<p>"We think it's an ability from the lions." The navigator shrugged. "Hunk talks to rocks, I talk to water—well, it's not so much 'talking' to the water as sensing everything about the water. Connecting to it, if that makes any sense."</p>
<p>Aha. "So you're not asking if I've been talking to wind. You're asking if wind has been talking to me."</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"Elemental control?" Vince asked, looking at his hands and frowning. It sounded better than uncontrolled sparks.</p>
<p>"Not so much control." Sven shrugged again. "More like communication and connection, at least for me."</p>
<p>"What… actually wait, maybe that tracks. I mean, I stood <em>in</em> a volcano and it felt like a day at the beach." Lance gave a sly smirk. "Fire talking, I like it. Always knew I was hot."</p>
<p>Sven and Daniel both rolled their eyes.</p>
<p>"Okay, look." Hunk crossed his arms. "Over the last couple days I like, communed with a rock pile and SAW DEAD PEOPLE IN THE DESERT. And you people are worried about piloting!"</p>
<p>"You saw dead people?" Lance was really starting to feel like he'd missed a <em>lot</em>. "I thought Vince was our ghost whisperer. Oh and you too, Princess."</p>
<p>Blushing a little, Romelle put aside the <em>princess</em> in favor of focusing on Hunk. "You're seeing ghosts now, too?"</p>
<p>The big engineer grumbled. "The Earth is patient, and claims the dead, and doesn't talk about piloting stuff cuz who would wanna know about that—"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can hear you, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>"—AND can hear me bitchin' about him."</p>
<p>Lance snorted. "Sorta their thing, isn't it? Being in our minds and all."</p>
<p>"…Yeah, okay."</p>
<p>Even Pidge snickered a little bit at that. Then he sat on the arm of a couch and looked around at the others, frowning. "What are we asking here, exactly? What the lions are capable of? Because we didn't expect this, but we should've expected <em>something</em>, kir sa tye?"</p>
<p>Lance cocked his head, thinking back to the metal. Red's metal. The metal they'd known since before leaving Earth was <em>actually magic</em>. He probably should've asked Red how that scrap had gotten to Kithran, not that he'd probably get an answer. "Ninja has a point."</p>
<p>"Whatever more they're capable of, I'm fairly certain we're not going to be able to guess." Sven considered asking Blue directly, but didn't expect he'd get an answer to <em>that</em>, either.</p>
<p>"Well we know Voltron put a hole in a mile-long monster, yeah?" Hunk dropped onto the couch next to Pidge. "And beat up on a thing that wiped out a whole civilization. And had magic metal and freaky elemental temples that tried to kill us, which <em>by the way</em> had to have been there for a few hundred years and still worked." He made a face. "Yeah uh, why <em>did</em> we think this was gonna stop at 'lion spaceships'?"</p>
<p>"All that is fucking true," Lance agreed. "And seriously, I think we lucked out that none of us landed in Red's murder gauntlet." He wondered if his lion would answer if he asked about <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Then again, he didn't really <em>want</em> to ask about that.</p>
<p>"I bet Yellow's woulda taken <em>patience</em>," Hunk muttered.</p>
<p>Much as Sven <em>was</em> glad to have not fallen into a gauntlet of fire, remembering the lightning chamber didn't make him feel particularly lucky. Nor did he particularly want to dwell on it any further. "So, what all of that should tell us is that they're extremely strong, are magical, and are tied to the elements. None of which is new information. I feel as if there <em>should</em> be new information."</p>
<p>"They're sentient beings?" Lance offered. "In robots?"</p>
<p>"…True."<em>I don't know how I forgot to mention that one.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Neither do I."</em>
</p>
<p>Sven rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Voltron was never going to be a conventional weapon. We clearly weren't ready for just how unconventional." Pidge exchanged glances with Vince, who just nodded quietly. He was more and more glad none of this concerned <em>him</em>. "A failure of imagination."</p>
<p>Hunk nodded. "For that matter we're still waitin' on an explanation of exactly <em>what</em> Voltron is, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Good point. Hey Red?" Lance paused a moment, then rolled his eyes too. "He's laughing."</p>
<p>Sven was laughing also. He'd been laughing at the mere <em>idea</em> that they might get an answer out of the lions; he was only laughing that much more at the results.</p>
<p><em>Is it even worth asking you?</em> Pidge inquired of Green, who growled softly.</p>
<p>
  <em>"When the time comes, you will understand why we could not tell you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'No' would've been shorter.</em>
</p>
<p>Hunk himself had gotten a reproachful purr. <em>"I have already told you."</em></p>
<p><em>Oh, right.</em> He closed his eyes, gave his most theatrical sigh of exasperation, and went for a pious tone. "Yellow just said he's already told me that, cuz I asked him if the lions were Voltron and he said somethin' like 'yes and no'."</p>
<p>"Oh well <em>that's</em> fucking crystal clear."</p>
<p>"You're not the only ones asking that question," Romelle offered hesitantly. "The Arusians don't even remember the name Voltron, and the story they've passed down about it is… different. Apparently they had some kind of… holy war where their current gods saved them and beat back a different group of gods? And the lions sacrificed themselves to save them."</p>
<p>Hunk nearly jumped off the couch as Yellow roared. <em>Not so loud in the </em>brain<em>, dude!</em></p>
<p>"I don't think that's quite right." Lance could feel Red bristling, but it was tinged with confusion.</p>
<p>"And I don't think the lions like it," Sven agreed as Blue growled.</p>
<p>Pidge could feel Green's confusion, but he was also intrigued. "That's the War of Golden Revival that Larmina mentioned?"</p>
<p>"Yes." She frowned. "And it doesn't feel quite right to me, either. Lady Larmina was showing me some artwork related to the legends, on one of the balconies. Some of it seemed to have been altered." But it was the other piece of information that the team might find most valuable. "She also said that the war was the first time Arus was invaded by aliens."</p>
<p><em>The first time?</em> Pidge nodded slowly. "It's not surprising that sentient telepathic elemental robots would have some myths surrounding them."</p>
<p>"Not just here either, yeah? The Terinians still think the beasts from the sky are keepin' an eye on things there, only difference is they actually <em>are</em> here." Hunk hesitated. "Which uh, big difference now that I say it."</p>
<p>"A big difference, but the point isn't wrong." Sven looked back at Romelle. "Did she say who these original invaders were?"</p>
<p>"No. She couldn't recall them even being named in her studies. But if I had to guess… it could only have been the Galra."</p>
<p>Lance bristled about as much as Red had earlier. "Those fuckers do want Voltron."</p>
<p>"That actually makes sense." Pidge's momentary optimism didn't last. <em>"That's</em> something new."</p>
<p>Green sounded frustrated. <em>"I think… it was more complicated."</em></p>
<p><em>You're talking without saying anything,</em> he retorted, then realized who he was echoing and wrinkled his nose in confusion.</p>
<p>Daniel had been listening carefully, hoping for any hint of an answer that might help him—he was glad he only had the one mystery to worry about. His salalizards were less interested. Finally he picked up Kermi, who was scratching and hissing around his shoes, and handed her to Lance. "Here, take her before she bites me."</p>
<p>Lance accepted the salalizard and winked at her, and the gunner made a mildly irritated noise. Why did one of <em>his</em> salalizards only behave for Lance?</p>
<p>But why did Red's salalizards hang out with <em>him?</em></p>
<p>"Where does this leave us?" Sven asked after a few moments of silence.</p>
<p>"Confused?"</p>
<p>"What else is new?"</p>
<p>"That's what I thought."</p>
<p>Watching the salalizard exchange, thinking about what Green had said about ghosts and banewolves, Pidge raised his head slightly. "It leaves us with the understanding that mystical cat spacecraft we had to 'bond' to are going to have capabilities we haven't even imagined yet, and we may as well start to expect it."</p>
<p>Hunk eyed him. "You make that sound so logical while still also <em>so freaky."</em></p>
<p>"I mean, it's creepy but it's true," Lance agreed.</p>
<p>Looking around at the others nodding, Romelle finally got around to asking a question that perhaps should've come up sooner. "Where is Keith?"</p>
<p>As second in command, Sven had, in fact, been informed of what crazy journey their commander was on right now. "He's been climbing a mountain overnight, I assume in order to earn his lion."</p>
<p>And that, Lance thought with a snort, was about what he'd expected to hear. "Of course he is."</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Tanner's tomb was small, tucked in a chamber just near their father’s. Simple paint made up for the traditional carved and enameled trim the royal tombs had. When Arus was secured—could such a thing finally be so close to being true?—Allura planned to cover his tomb with all the required adornments, and if she could be so daring… even a bit more. His dream was coming true, but he would never with his own eyes see this wondrous event occur. It seemed so cruel…</p>
<p>While she did plan to go and look over her father’s tomb, as Black had suggested, the seals she'd placed in certain key areas were still unbroken. It was clearly undisturbed. The pendant would still be there; she could spend some time by her brother's side first. If his spirit could hear, she would weave tales of all that he was missing. Stepping into the small side chamber, she knelt next to the small stone casket to be close to him.</p>
<p>“Oh Tanner, I have so much to share," she murmured. "So much is happening—if anything, it makes me miss you more and more. I’ve met him… the one who can wake the Lion of Storms. The ones who can wake them all, but I know you loved Black Lion best. He seems so interesting, if not what we ever expected. An alien soldier… the group he is with already escaped Zarkon's clutches.”</p>
<p>Allura looked about the crypt as she spoke, perhaps rambled. She wondered if Tanner was listening or if he had found rest after his brief, yet frightening hardships within his final days. “I wish you could see this. There is so much more to the lions that even our family knew. They are part of something so much greater.” <em>We have so much yet to learn of them.</em> She lost track of time, just for a bit, as she wove tales and dreams of all the things she thought the lions could be.</p>
<p>Slowly, she felt her voice fading and her racing mind beginning to calm. With it came another pang. They would learn so much soon, and still her brother would be robbed of it.</p>
<p>The Drules had cost them this. No, technically they hadn't <em>killed </em>Tanner. Only driven him into the caves, like so many others, where the lurking danger of the cave-mold could strike down peasant and prince alike. For every act of direct destruction the invaders had wrought, there was an equally terrible indirect loss in its wake.</p>
<p>It would be so easy to give in to rage, to revenge. Allura would be lying if she pretended she felt no desire for either. But there was so much more than just vengeance that she wanted; the word didn't even scratch the surface.</p>
<p>She wanted her people and her world to regain their former glory, and so much more. She wanted them to no longer live in fear—to never again have to fear death from the distant stars…</p>
<p>She looked back at the tomb, and smiled sadly at the thought of his very last moments. He'd heard Black Lion's voice. That she knew. Through all his suffering, he'd had <em>that</em>. The Drules hadn't taken that moment from him, and wouldn't take that knowledge from her. They had killed so many Arusians, but not broken them. And now…</p>
<p>"Just watch us, l'il lion," she whispered.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>It was remarkably cool inside the cavern, and surprisingly dry. Keith slowly made his way further into the darkness, swiftly becoming almost blind to his surroundings. Fumbling a little he pulled a light from his bag, flicking it on. He shined it around cautiously, moving deeper into the cavern. It was massive; the light didn't even hit the far walls. He could feel more than see that the floor was sloping back down a bit, and the cavern itself took a gentle turn, until the daylight from the entrance had vanished entirely.</p>
<p>There was no judging distance, and with all his senses on alert there was not much judging time either. But suddenly he caught sight of a faint light in the darkness ahead, seemingly getting brighter the closer he got. As he got closer, it seemingly divided, but in uniform fashion… he realized abruptly that it wasn't a light, exactly. It was a reflection of his own light off something shiny. More than one something. Metal?</p>
<p>Taking one more step forward, Keith froze. He could <em>feel</em> it. A looming presence somewhere ahead of him, and the static—like the black metal they'd retrieved from Terina, but this was stronger. Much stronger. Some of his hairs were standing on end, and he could feel the static surrounding him, not just a sensation beneath his own skin.</p>
<p>"You're here," he whispered.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I am. Come closer. Present yourself, that I may finally look upon the cub I've called to me."</em>
</p>
<p><em>Cub.</em> It wasn't the first time the lion had called him that, but it was still a bit disconcerting. <em>Really, that's what you're going to be disconcerted by?</em> Keith shook himself out of the thoughts, focusing on the static and the deep, rich voice of the lion, far stronger than he'd ever heard it. He took a couple more steps and golden glowing light flared, looking like a pair of eyes shining from above him, illuminating the cavern.</p>
<p>And the massive black, red, and silver lion seated within its depths.</p>
<p>"…Wow." He looked up at it in awe, the pinpoints of his light reflecting from its paws and muzzle almost lost in the light of its eyes. "Impressive."</p>
<p><em>"Indeed."</em> A grumbling purr echoed around him. <em>"You are injured."</em></p>
<p>Keith blinked, then looked down at himself, grimacing at the dirt and bits of blood. A couple of the cuts were deeper than the others; nothing too bad, but they would need to be cleaned and probably bandaged. "Uh, nothing serious." The gryphon had already judged him enough about that. "Just slipped and fell on the way up here a few times."</p>
<p><em>"It is a hard climb,"</em> the lion agreed. <em>"Not many dare to venture up my path. I do hope my friends didn't frighten you."</em></p>
<p>His friends, of course. Keith paused a moment, not really wanting to admit that he'd always known gryphons as only a myth… or that he'd been afraid he was tonight's dinner.</p>
<p>The lion chuckled. <em>"You know I can hear your thoughts, cub. They are quite real, and generally unlikely to eat people."</em></p>
<p>"Right." That wasn't the most convincing reassurance, but it would do. Shaking it off gazed up at the lion, taking in the details more carefully. He stepped to one side, seeing the black sigil from the temple etched into its shoulder. Two large red protrusions extended from its back, giving the impression of wings; why would a lion spacecraft need wings? He wondered what they were really for.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You will see in time, cub."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith grimaced. "There really is no hiding my thoughts from you now, is there?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"No. Our abilities will become stronger as the Pride becomes whole, though not everything in your mind is so easily seen."</em>
</p>
<p>Nod. <em>In other words, get used to it, Kogane.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"Ko-ga-ne?"</em>
</p>
<p>He froze for a moment, another voice echoing his name, then winced and pushed it aside. "It's my family name. We use them to refer to each other at times, where I'm from. But my first name is Keith."</p>
<p><em>"Ah, yes. I suppose proper introductions are in order." </em>The lion purred softly. <em>"I am the Black Lion, Lion of Storms."</em></p>
<p>Keith stepped back and took in the entire lion before him, nodding slowly. "Nice to finally meet you." Had that been the correct way to say that? Really? It was met with silence, in any case. "So, uh… I made it here."</p>
<p>The lion's rumbling purr echoed through the cavern. <em>"That you did. The last to reach one of us, yet this was proper. You are the alpha of your pride as I am to mine."</em></p>
<p><em>Alpha? Pride?</em> He frowned, thinking that over. It wasn't exactly wrong, it just sounded strange. But dealing with lions… accurate? He thought? <em>Stop it.</em> <em>I'm not here to discuss vocabulary with an ancient sentient mechanical lion.</em> "I am. Though, we don't use those particular words for it."</p>
<p>Black chuckled. <em>"I would imagine not. But, as you were thinking, accurate."</em></p>
<p>Grimacing, Keith nodded. Was he ever going to really get used to this lion speaking in his head?</p>
<p>
  <em>"In time you will."</em>
</p>
<p>He'd almost been expecting that, so perhaps it was true. "Honestly, I feel like… you've been judging me."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Not inaccurate. There is much we both must learn of each other, if you are to be my bonded. I am the alpha. The leader. One who does not hold respect and care for his pride would be a poor partner for me."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith exhaled slowly. "You've not exactly agreed with me on some of my choices."</p>
<p>
  <em>"No, perhaps not. However, I can understand them. There are difficult decisions to be made in every aspect of life. A leader must act with wisdom and care, but no leader can always be correct."</em>
</p>
<p>That was very true… much too true, sometimes. No sense taking that any further. "So, what happens now?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"That is up to you, cub. The choice facing you must be yours and yours alone."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith stared silently into the lion's glowing eyes. His mind was churning with questions, but did he have time for those? <em>No, I </em>can't <em>worry about those. People need these lions. Arus needs them.</em></p>
<p><em>"Curious." </em>The lion growled quietly. <em>"Why do you constantly reject yourself?"</em></p>
<p>That was not what he'd been expecting Black to ask. But why not? He'd said something like that before… "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"You worry and care for others, yet deny your own right to your feelings. Yet your needs are just as important as those of your pride; an alpha who rejects himself can not empathize with others."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith hissed softly, looking away. Of course he knew what Black was referring to. Pain and loss had been staples in his life for some time and they always lurked just out of sight. He knew that. It was his burden, and it couldn't be permitted to interfere. "If I dwell on my own problems, how can I lead and be responsible for the others' health and safety?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"If you cannot care for yourself, how can you expect to be there when others need you?"</em>
</p>
<p>"I'm not what matters."</p>
<p>
  <em>"I disagree."</em>
</p>
<p>The words shot through him like a thunderclap, and he shook his head slightly. How did he counter that? Every intellectual argument he'd ever used to convince himself seemed to pale before the leader of the lions.</p>
<p>
  <em>"It is your way to think of others' needs before your own. While it is noble, kind, and generous, it can become dangerous. It can be exploited. A mortal cannot truly live by giving everything they have to others. One must save something for themselves as well. One's own feelings must be explored and dealt with for a soul to truly flourish."</em>
</p>
<p>Keith winced. Would he have said he was flourishing? Ever? Certainly not since that day, at least. It wasn't his focus. Only to fulfill his duty and get through the days…</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes. You have great pain in your past, as do others within your pride. You have forgone your own grief and suffering to help them, but when do you face your own? Heal your own? And will you accept their help, when that time comes?"</em>
</p>
<p>Unbidden, images raced through his mind. His parents. The lost crew from the Vesuvius. Jace. Flynn. Cam… he bowed his head. <em>No.</em> "There will be more, if I don't succeed here. If I don't bond with you, more will die. That's what matters."</p>
<p>
  <em>"There will be more deaths whether you bond to me or not, cub. Loss is a part of life. It is the way things are and must be. You cannot carry the weight of all the living and the dead; it is too much a burden for one soul."</em>
</p>
<p>That was true. <em>But, I am responsible for those under my command…</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"There is only so much you can do. Burdens must be shared, cub. It is within our bonds where true strength lies. It is why our pilots must be a Pride… it is why we must test and bond to those we call, rather than form simple alliances of convenience. The strength to endure. To flourish. Do you see it?"</em>
</p>
<p>Keith sighed, thinking that through, and nodded hesitantly. There was untold truth and wisdom in the lion's words and he would be a fool to not admit that. <em>Leaders have to listen, too. Adapt. Believe in their people.</em></p>
<p>The thought echoed in his mind again. <em>We're all we've got</em>. What the lion was saying seemed to resonate with that. <em>Our pilots must be a Pride</em>. And yet he had held himself apart, just a little, believing it was what command required of him…</p>
<p>"It's like I told Daniel," he murmured. "I'm only human."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Indeed."</em>
</p>
<p>Turning, he paced for a few steps, mind racing. He was hurting as much as the rest of his team—if not more, since he kept pushing it aside. He knew that. And he knew some bits of psychology, nowhere near enough, but enough to know he did have to deal with it eventually. They'd told him that at the Academy, when he'd simply thrown himself back into his studies as if it were a substitute for processing the pain.</p>
<p>Of course, the words of Alliance psychotherapists somehow carried a little less weight than the ancient magical lion robot who could read his mind.</p>
<p>But there was one thing he knew for certain, and right now. "You're right. I know you're right, but. Grieving and… healing… takes time—time that the people of this planet don't have."</p>
<p>Black Lion growled. <em>"True. And you will not turn your back on them… you must be truly strong to succeed with the burden you would bear. So. Will you choose to allow yourself the same concern you give to others, from here on?"</em></p>
<p>There was no choice, and he nodded. He understood. Either he dealt with the grief and the struggles with his team, or it would all come crashing down around him. "As best as I can."</p>
<p><em>"I will accept that for now… and I will hold you to your word. Come."</em> The lion lowered its head and growled again, pushing one huge paw closer to him.</p>
<p>Keith watched the lion move before hesitantly stepping towards the paw. The static was so strong now, enveloping him. He reached out and touched the cold, smooth metal.</p>
<p>—<em>He'd expected to feel the static of the black metal fragment but this was different, massively different, it felt like he'd been struck by lightning and deafened by a sharp crack of thunder, unable to breathe, unable to cry out, and yet he heard roaring lions almost seeming to answer the crack of thunder, and thrown about by the sounds he felt weightless, towering black thunderheads stretching before him with lightning dancing and arcing, more beautiful than anything he'd imagined, and the storm washed out his vision—</em></p>
<p>Keith stumbled back, gasping for breath, still feeling the vestiges of lightning shooting through his veins. He could see his reflection in Black Lion's claw, and as he looked he saw his eyes glow a brilliant electric blue. <em>Cyan?</em> It wasn't what he'd expected, but then—the prospect of glowing black eyes <em>had</em> seemed a little impractical. What had the others said? Their colors washed out everything else when it happened. Black would have been a problem.</p>
<p>
  <em>Not to mention I'd probably look like I was possessed.</em>
</p>
<p>He slowly became aware of a chuckling purr that seemed to fully flow through him. <em>"You will be called Stormsoul. Knight of the Storm, Paladin of Honor. And as you have been, so you shall stand as the Alpha of the Pride."</em></p>
<p>It was… a lot, but the word <em>honor</em> seemed to pull him back to his senses like another crack of lightning. Of course he was.</p>
<p>"…There is no escaping that damned Crystal Spur, is there?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"What is a Crystal Spur?"</em>
</p>
<p>Keith blushed. Of course, he was going to have to explain <em>that</em>. "A medal. From the Alliance. Something I was awarded for…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Ah. Exceptional chivalry."</em>
</p>
<p>Sigh. "Yeah. That."</p>
<p>Black chuckled again, and it made the hair on the back of his neck prickle slightly. <em>"Our bond is far more than a mere medal, Stormsoul. And much like my siblings' bonded, you have one more challenge to face."</em></p>
<p>"A challenge?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yes. Involving my key."</em>
</p>
<p>Right. He remembered what he'd heard of the others' and frowned. "It's not in some temple that's going to try and kill me, is it?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"No. It is in the crypts under the castle."</em>
</p>
<p>"Crypts," he echoed, cocking his head. "Under the castle? Shouldn't be <em>too</em> hard."</p>
<p>Black only chuckled, and something about that chuckle did not make Keith feel any better. Par for the course, wasn't it? But his eyes glowed again and he took a deep breath. This was the last step, it wasn't as if he would refuse.</p>
<p><em>"You will at least be delighted to know,"</em> the lion offered, <em>"that you can finally travel my tunnel now."</em></p>
<p>Despite himself, Keith laughed.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>The silence aboard the <em>Falcon</em> had lasted for less than a minute when the jolt shot through the room. All four lion pilots' eyes flared, and a wash of electricity flooded between them, drawing startled jumps and an outright yelp from Hunk—it felt an awful lot like that time he'd stuck his finger in a capacitor, which he'd promised to <em>never do again</em>.</p>
<p>Vince jumped too, retreating from the light show and partially hiding behind a bemused Romelle. "Nope, nope, creepy, creepy!"</p>
<p>"Wow." Daniel just looked around at them, then down at Crouton, who burped at him. "Check it out, the glow freaks all glowed at the same time."</p>
<p>"…Synchronized Glowsticks would be a <em>sweet</em> band name," Hunk declared as the glow in his eyes faded.</p>
<p>"We should get a t-shirt," Lance snorted, looking around at the others and immediately understanding. If he'd set Sven on fire… "That was Keith, wasn't it? Like a hard jolt of static?"</p>
<p>"Must've been, yeah?"</p>
<p>"I think so." Sven sighed. It wasn't as bad as the temple had been, but it was more the principle of the thing. "I'm so over fire <em>and</em> electricity."</p>
<p>Daniel's eyes darted between them; despite his deadpan observation, his mind was racing. <em>They all felt it, but I didn't. Neither did Vince or Romelle, it seems like, but… I need to start taking notes or something.</em> The mere thought of taking notes spurred him to more drastic action, and he raised his hand. Like a dork, but they were way beyond worrying about that.</p>
<p>"So uh, can I ask the non lion pilot people a question?"</p>
<p>Both Vince and Romelle gave him looks in response that didn't <em>exactly</em> seem receptive. Vince felt certain he was going to hate this—what question he wouldn't hate could possibly start out like that? Romelle tugged her jacket a little tighter around her and watched the gunner warily.</p>
<p>Neither had said yes or even encouraged him, but Daniel wasn't really waiting for an answer, either. "So when Lancey-Pants over there," he pointed, "bonded to his fire-cat, all the other pilots felt a wave of heat—"</p>
<p>Sven made a very indignant noise.</p>
<p>"—Except Sven, who was apparently roasted like pulled pork and is bitter about it."</p>
<p>Lance and Hunk snorted and Pidge rolled his eyes, but Sven just shrugged and nodded. It was significantly more accurate.</p>
<p>"Remind me never to invite you to the volcano, Viking."</p>
<p>"Grilled Viking is a no-no."</p>
<p>Now Sven scowled, and Romelle decided to move this right along before the team could do… well, the sort of thing they normally did. "So what is the question, Daniel?"</p>
<p>"Well, I'm not a pilot—" He stopped and sucked in a sharp breath. "Okay, that sentence kinda hurt but we're gonna move on. The point is that I felt the heat too, so my question or I guess <em>questions</em> is, did you guys feel the heat too? Or any other kind of elemental bullshit? Or have you guys gained any alien animal friends lately?"</p>
<p>Neither of them got a chance to respond—not that a quick response was really forthcoming—because Lance got there first. "You felt the heat?!" <em>Red? Answers?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"It is not yet time."</em>
</p>
<p>He attempted to glare at the lion, which mostly resulted in him seeming to glare at the room, but nobody really had to wonder too hard about what was happening there.</p>
<p>"Yep." Daniel shrugged.</p>
<p>"That's… weird?" <em>Possibly awesome?</em></p>
<p>"Yep! And seeing as how these lions don't like to give answers, I'm going to try to figure it out on my own."</p>
<p>Well, there was that. "Red was, unsurprisingly, not forthcoming."</p>
<p>"I'm shocked," Sven scoffed.</p>
<p>Pidge frowned. "Wasn't that a few minutes ago?"</p>
<p>Glare. "I'm unsure if you're joking or not, but either way, fuck off."</p>
<p>Shrugging, Pidge looked at Hunk, who was staring at him in total disbelief. It <em>had</em> been a joke; he was still working on the concept. "Fair."</p>
<p>Shaking his head, Vince decided to answer the question so he could stop having to worry about it. "I didn't feel any heat."</p>
<p>"No, I didn't either," Romelle agreed.</p>
<p>Daniel was not about to give up that easily. "Have you felt any other elements? Obviously not lightning 'cause that just happened, but wind? Water? Earth?"</p>
<p>Vince started to shake his head, then stopped halfway through. <em>Wait… no. No, that was nothing, it's nothing, that was just more YOU weird.</em></p>
<p>He had not kept his thoughts from his face, and it just so happened Daniel was paying attention to that right now. "Hey-hey-hey-hey! Vince, what's with that face?"</p>
<p>That, understandably, resulted in him making another face. An even less enthusiastic one. "It's nothing. I just had this thing where I felt something like I was standing on earth even though I was lying down, but I sparked, and just—it was a <em>me</em> kind of weird, you know?"</p>
<p>"Wait, you what?" Hunk looked over at him. "When?"</p>
<p>"Uh. I don't remember exactly, I was focused on the ghosts." <em>And other weird stuff. And maybe mushrooms.</em></p>
<p>Daniel watched him, wide-eyed. <em>Earth</em>. "Didn't you react badly to the yellow bracelet thing, too?"</p>
<p>"No I didn't! …Did I?"</p>
<p>"It literally knocked you over, mechka."</p>
<p>Vince shot the ninja a mildly betrayed look, then shook his head again. "But that was sparking, wasn't it?" Maybe if he just kept shaking his head, they would stop asking him questions. He'd been perfectly happy listening to <em>other people</em> having weird things happen for once.</p>
<p>"You had a reaction to the yellow earth-y Voltron bracelet." Daniel was not even hearing any objections. "And you felt earth here."</p>
<p>"And Yellow said some cryptic lion stuff about you yesterday when I asked him about the ghosts," Hunk added. <em>The hell is going on here?</em> The bracelet. He'd forgotten all about Vince's problem with the bracelet—the bracelet that had Yellow's symbol on it. <em>Yellow, c'mon, dude. Give us something here?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>"I cannot, Earthwarder."</em>
</p>
<p>Well at least that was a straight answer. Ish.</p>
<p>"He what?" Vince gave Hunk a much more betrayed look then the one he'd given Pidge; at least he <em>expected</em> things he didn't want to hear out of the ninja. "No, no, and <em>nope</em>. Look I have my own weird, I don't need any lion weird."</p>
<p>"The lions don't care if you need their weird," Pidge muttered, and felt Green give a small purr of indignation.</p>
<p>And there was the ninja with things he didn't want to hear. "Nope," he muttered again, grumbling it a few more times under his breath for good measure.</p>
<p>Daniel heard all of the nopes, but he was having none of it; he was absolutely convinced that Vince had something to do with Hunk's lion whether he liked it or not. So he turned his attention to Romelle. "Hey Romelle, you're also making a face." It was more thoughtful than guilty or in denial, but it could mean something. It <em>had</em> to mean something. <em>Please!</em></p>
<p>She had been thinking. Mostly, much like Vince, her interaction with the supernatural here had been limited to ghosts. Real <em>magic</em> was not something that Polluxians encountered often—if anything, it was looked on with suspicion. An element of Arusian culture that had not accompanied them into exile. But…</p>
<p>There had been <em>something</em>.</p>
<p>"Maybe?" she said hesitantly.</p>
<p>Daniel's eyes lit up. "Okay, what did you maybe feel?"</p>
<p>"It was a bone-chilling cold." She frowned. "I've felt a few chills here, from ghosts passing by, but there was one that was… not quite the same as the others. Stronger."</p>
<p><em>Hmm</em>. A chill? He could work with that. "So would a chill be water or wind?" He had no plans to even entertain it just being a ghost. Absolutely not.</p>
<p>Romelle was a bit more cooperative about it than Vince, at least. "If we're associating this with the lions, I don't think Pidge had… bonded, yet." When had it happened? She tried to remember. What she remembered distinctly was where she had <em>been</em>. Finishing with the grill. Which meant… "It was before the cookout."</p>
<p>"Cold is kinda mostly what it felt like when Sven did the lion thing," Hunk offered. It felt like forever ago now.</p>
<p>"So water." Daniel was getting more excited. Something was actually happening. There was still more magic lion bullshit to be confused about! …It seemed weird to be thinking of that as a <em>good</em> thing, but here they were.</p>
<p>"And you felt heat," Lance said again, looking at the kid and remembering what Red had said about him being important.</p>
<p>"Yeah." He nodded. "And your fire-lion's pets follow me around."</p>
<p>"They do like you." Lance grinned. "No fucking clue what any of that means, but I like it."</p>
<p>"I… I don't not-like it." Daniel needed more information before he decided if he really liked it, but it seemed like a pretty good start. "Anyone else making animal friends?"</p>
<p>Vince was still muttering <em>nope</em> to himself in a corner, so Hunk fielded that one. "The vultures don't seem as uh, <em>portable</em> as the salalizards." They were pretty big birds.</p>
<p>"Nor are the gorcas," Sven agreed. "Being aquatic, and all."</p>
<p>"I've gotten the distinct impression that the banewolves do not usually make 'friends'," Pidge muttered. <em>Relatable</em>. Though there was one exception to—<em>oh</em> no. He pushed that thought aside before it could finish, and quickly changed the subject. "So, we have a whole list of new questions again?"</p>
<p>"Yep."</p>
<p>"Seems like!"</p>
<p>"Great. I have one more: should we be <em>doing</em> something now that the Commander is bonded?"</p>
<p>The others exchanged looks. It did seem like a fair question, but… "Like what?"</p>
<p>"Besides admit that the mission is beyond fucked?"</p>
<p>"The shottiest mission in the history of missions being shot."</p>
<p>"Hasn't the mission kinda been fucked since, oh I don't know, the voices in your heads?" Daniel pointed out.</p>
<p>"…Yeah, true." Lance shrugged. "Find Keith and repeat this conversation?"</p>
<p>Pidge didn't think that sounded terribly efficient. "We could find him and ask for orders." The team didn't usually favor that course, but it was worth a try.</p>
<p>Daniel <em>definitely</em> didn't favor that course. "Do I gotta be there for that?" he muttered under his breath; he would be able to give Lance his apology if the opportunity presented itself, but he wasn't sure he was <em>quite</em> ready yet to apologize to Keith. He probably shouldn't have said anything at all, but fortunately nobody seemed to have noticed.</p>
<p>"I am pretty sure Yellow said…" Hunk stopped, realizing what he was about to say, and groaned. "…that once they're all awake they can try to fly."</p>
<p>Crimson light surged in Lance's eyes for a solid several seconds. "Really?!"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry I said anything," Pidge grumbled.</p>
<p>"Do you guys think Lance is excited to fly?" Daniel asked, smirking. If he couldn't be a pilot he could at least snark at someone who was.</p>
<p>Lance glowered and his eyes flashed again. "Am I really the only one?"</p>
<p>"I'm an engineer!" Pidge protested. "And a ninja! I fix machines and break people, flying giant robot cat ships was not even an elective!"</p>
<p>"Okay, but <em>they are giant robot cat ships!"</em></p>
<p>"Dude." Hunk shook his head. "The glowing <em>red</em> thing is the freakiest yet, you know that, yeah?"</p>
<p>Smirk. "Yeah, but it's totally fucking awesome, too."</p>
<p>"Wait." Vince was thinking back to the colors associated with this Voltron thing. Specifically, the color they were still missing. "Ugh, will Keith's eyes like, go all jet black?"</p>
<p>Daniel brightened almost as much as when the others had become part of the lion bullshit. "I fucking hope so."</p>
<p>"That sounds like it would be… disconcerting?" Romelle murmured, not that he was listening.</p>
<p>"I could call him Demon-Man. Black Hole."</p>
<p>"Komora…?"</p>
<p>"Commander Soulless!"</p>
<p>"Nope."</p>
<p>"Make jokes about the sword up his ass poking out his eyeballs."</p>
<p>"Wait, dude, who said anything about swords out his eyeballs? Eww."</p>
<p>Lance snorted down a laugh. "Can I be there when you do that one?"</p>
<p>"Sure." It wouldn't be near as fun without witnesses.</p>
<p>Though he had no idea what was going on—which, to be fair, wasn't unusual at times like this—Pidge was sure of one thing. "We really should go find him, though." Sigh. "If we're supposed to fly magic robot lions to fight the Drules, I'd like to have at least some idea of how they work before the Drules show up."</p>
<p>"…Okay, when you put it <em>that</em> way I'm with ya."</p>
<p>"That is a good idea. Though I propose we wait until he gets down from the mountain."</p>
<p>"Guess we'll wait up." Lance frowned. "Or maybe he'll head back via the tunnels?" Climbing up a mountain to earn a lion's respect seemed about on brand, but having to climb back <em>down</em> it seemed less so.</p>
<p>Hunk, who had still been sulking a little at the prospect of flight, cheered up immediately. "Someone say tunnels? Like the tunnels with the super awesome shuttles in 'em? I say we go wait up <em>there</em>."</p>
<p>"…Shuttles?" Pidge echoed blankly. "What shuttles?"</p>
<p>"Ninja engineer, you're gonna love 'em."</p>
<p>Even Vince perked up. "Those shuttles <em>are</em> cool."</p>
<p>"They're amazing," Sven agreed.</p>
<p>"Oh sure." Lance threw his hands up in mock frustration. "Shuttles are awesome, flying badass robot lions is MEH."</p>
<p>"Somethin' for everyone, bro!" Hunk grinned at Pidge. "Though hey, maybe we'll get to do diagnostics on badass robot lions? They do keep sayin' they've been asleep for awhile. <em>That</em> would be cool." The ninja nodded excitedly, all his grumpiness forgotten. That could <em>only</em> be fascinating.</p>
<p>"You're all hopeless," Lance declared, feeling Red's amused growl in the back of his mind. "But I'm down for waiting at the tunnels. Maybe Keith will properly <em>appreciate</em> that we're gonna be <em>flying."</em></p>
<p>"Maybe," Sven agreed with a shrug. He wouldn't bet against it, anyway. "Works for me."</p>
<p>Sighing, Vince looked around the room and decided he really didn't want to be left out of the shuttles. "Can I come, even though this has nothing to do with me?"</p>
<p>"…It clearly has something to do with—"</p>
<p>"—What he <em>means</em>," Hunk interrupted, "is the disabled shuttles are totally gonna need an electrical engineer, of course you're comin'!"</p>
<p>"That is not what I—" This time it was Hunk's elbow that interrupted Pidge, and he sputtered indignantly. All the more so when Green chuckled. <em>Whose side are you on?!</em></p>
<p>Vince decided just ignoring that was best. Because <em>nope</em>.</p>
<p>"Me and my salalizards are coming too."</p>
<p>"Fucking right you are."</p>
<p>"And you too, Romelle." That got Sven a startled look, then a small smile. It was good to be included…</p>
<p>"Yes. Explorer Teams stick together."</p>
<p>"You got that right, sister." Hunk grinned. "Let's rock this!"</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Hanso had finally been freed from the shelter's makeshift infirmary. He'd been released with strict orders to take it easy, and of course he had wasted no time in disobeying them.</p>
<p>"Come on, Captain, just one little patrol? Please? I've been stuck down here <em>forever</em>."</p>
<p>Sarial just shook her head in fond exasperation. "Under what theory do you expect going out there and overtaxing yourself to get you <em>un-stuck</em> from down here? No patrols." Turning around, she'd glanced back over her shoulder and added, "You'd rather go hunting with Larmina and Allendar anyway, I'm certain."</p>
<p>He'd started to argue before fully registering what she said. Then he'd <em>shut his mouth</em>. And that was how he found himself sitting on a wooden sled, being towed through the meadow by Allendar, keeping an eye out for anything he could snipe from his position while Larmina took the lead.</p>
<p>Over the course of the Drule occupation, most of the sleds they'd used to transport game and supplies back to the shelter had gone through several rounds of repairs. The militia was used to dealing with broken skids and rough travel. They'd picked the one in the best condition, but it was still a bumpy ride.</p>
<p>Probably would've been less so if Allendar weren't trying to drag it with one arm and keep his slingbow leveled with the other.</p>
<p>"Hey Larmina, you think you could get a couple of your banewolf friends to pull this thing? I don't think Allendar is giving it his full <em>attention</em>."</p>
<p>"You know," Allendar suggested sweetly, "I could just leave you here and have <em>both</em> hands free for aiming."</p>
<p>"I'm trying to help free up your hands!"</p>
<p>Larmina shook her head, grinning. It felt weird to be nostalgic about the <em>good old days</em> of venturing out with these two into the hostile wilderness, but… it was easier, more comfortable, than the new phase the offworlders had brought with them. Right now that was the best she could ask for.</p>
<p>As for his request… "I don't think they do that sort of thing, but I can ask." Smirk. "If they get offended I'll just let them eat you."</p>
<p>Hanso blinked. "Uh, know what? Point taken. Bumps are fine."</p>
<p>The silence that fell after that was something of a reflex. This <em>was</em> familiar, and they were all falling into old habits—talking too much when a Drule might have been across every rise hadn't been the best of ideas. But the tension over this trip was coming from somewhere far above, and as they neared the foothills they were relaxing again.</p>
<p>"How <em>did</em> you get friendly with banewolves, anyway?" There had been very little opportunity to ask her about that when he'd been stuck in a crowded infirmary.</p>
<p>Allendar glanced back at him. "She won't tell you. I've tried."</p>
<p>"I told you the truth," Larmina protested. He had tried. Repeatedly. "I didn't do anything but get knocked out in the forest, and <em>they</em> decided they wanted to be friends."</p>
<p>"Legendary killer wolves just like you? Sure, fine." Hanso shrugged. "At least they're good judges of character, imagine if they tried to buddy up with the High Priest? So many regrets. Or so much dinner."</p>
<p>…He'd accepted that a <em>lot</em> quicker than Allendar, actually. "So true."</p>
<p>As they moved into the hills, Hanso hopped off the sled; he'd only promised to take it easy as much as possible. His eyes darted up to the distant mountains, and the clear sky above where there should have been clouds.</p>
<p>"That's really creepy," Allendar murmured, mirroring his thoughts. Thunder Ridge was supposed to have <em>thunder</em>.</p>
<p>"Does it really <em>never</em> clear up for a few hours?" Larmina asked, eyeing the peaks curiously. She hadn't been at the castle long enough to learn all the intricacies of the weather, and spending most of her time since the attack underground hadn't helped. "Auntie said the weather was weird, too."</p>
<p>Auntie had said more than <em>that</em>, but Larmina knew she wasn't supposed to share the part about it being a sign from the Great Lions, or whatever it—</p>
<p>A low growl echoed from the mountains, and she froze.</p>
<p>"…can thin out a lot," Allendar was saying, "but there's almost always <em>something</em>. And we should be able to hear it from here, even if it's too low to see."</p>
<p>She almost laughed at that. What she'd heard was definitely <em>not</em> what he was talking about. The same growl as she'd heard so many times in the forest—no, not quite the same, but similar. And the one she'd heard once before in the foothills, echoing from the Burning Ridge that time instead…</p>
<p>She wasn't even going to ask. No. She was going to enjoy this little bit of normal—weird normal that it was—and ask Aunt Allura about it <em>later</em>. When she was ready, or at least more ready, to deal with offworlders and lion stuff again.</p>
<p>"Well, the rolis aren't going to wait for us to try to figure out the weird weather patterns." She drew her bow and winked at Hanso. "And they're not going to wait for <em>you</em> either, but I like to play fair. We can count each of your rolis as equal to two of mine, just this once."</p>
<p>He sputtered indignantly and readied his own bow. "Excuse me? You've never beat me before, and I'm not gonna need a mercy rule to keep that streak going!" He started to charge forward into the underbrush, only to nearly fall on his backside as his upper body refused to go anywhere.</p>
<p>Allendar had an iron grip on his collar. "We can still make you guard that sled, you know."</p>
<p>"Dovoyat…"</p>
<p>As the three headed further into the foothills, still cheerfully arguing, the clouds began to gather over Thunder Ridge.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><i>*Sorry for the delay on this one, this chapter was literally cursed. There was health trouble, there was logistical trouble, there hasn't been a modem spontaneously combusting </i>yet<i> but until actually pressing the post button we were not ruling that out... but here it is! A chapter of just a tiny bit of importance! Heh.</i></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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